The Song of Light
by Game2002
Summary: Franchouchou goes abroad to Transylvania for their first overseas performance. The Smashers go to the same location as well. Little do they know that something sinister will soon happen in the land known for the legend of vampires...
1. Setting the Stage

_This world... The state of this world..._

 _To say that it is in a bad condition is to underestimate how truly messed up things are..._

 _I can no longer call this world my home..._

 _The home I once knew and love no longer exists, and probably will never be restored..._

 _I have had enough with this place... I no longer want anything to do with this world anymore..._

 _This world can destroy itself for all I care. There is nothing left for me left here anymore..._

A lone person was standing atop an old building as he thought about all those. Before him was the sight of an old and fallen apart city filled with dirty buildings. The sky was red, the cloud was dark, and smoke and fire could be seen coming from among the buildings in the distance. If one listened closely, they could hear the sound of sirens, screams, and gunshots.

Said person was in no way human at all, though he was the height of an average human adult. With a monstrous appearance resembling that of a pterodactyl, right down to having a pair of wings on his back, this person beheld the grim sight before his eyes with an expression that seemed to convey disappointment, anger, and sadness.

As he was pondering various things, someone approached him from behind and touched one of his wings. He turned to see that person, who appeared to be wearing a black armored suit of sorts that covered his body entirely, not even sparing the face. The helmet has a vaguely y-shaped slit serving as the visor, and bright blue light was coming out of it.

"It's ready, is it not?" the pterodactyl-like creature asked the armored person, who responded with nothing more than a nod. Turning to look at the sight before him one last time, he said, "Well, time to say good-bye to this world. I hope you won't miss this place." The armored person shook his head in response to the last line.

Standing up and stretching his limbs, the winged creature turned around with the armored person and walked towards the edge on the other side of the building. Spreading out his wings, the creature leaped off the roof and glided in the direction of an empty lot down below, while the armored person floated into the air dived down after him.

Landing in the empty lot, they looked at what appeared to be a spaceship parked before them. It was a relatively large ship, about the length of a bus but the height of three of them stacked on top of each other. Taking out a small device, the armored person pressed a button on it, causing a hatch to open up at the side.

They both stepped into the spaceship and were immediately greeted by the bizarre sight of a plant-like creature with a mouth filled with sharp teeth and situated in a pot jumping towards them somehow. When the winged creature petted the plant-like creature on its head, the latter responded in a manner that showed affection and comfort. "Sorry to keep you waiting," the winged creature told it. "We're leaving now. Starting from today, we no longer have to listen to all these terrible noises and read about all those nasty news... Let's hope the place where we are going is much better than this and will also welcome us."

Taking his seat at the pilot's seat of the cockpit, the winged creature began inputting commands onto the control panel to turn on the spaceship. From the outside, one could see the ship floating into the air, while lights shined out from various parts of it. It floated high into the sky until it was higher than all the buildings around it. Facing a the ship in a particular direction, the winged creature held a lever tightly and then took a deep breath. "Adieu, my home..." He then pulled the lever, and the spaceship let out a loud noise.

Suddenly, a large blue wormhole materialized before the spaceship and grew in size until it was large enough for the latter to go into, which it does. After the spaceship went through the wormhole entirely, the latter shrunk until it disappeared.

* * *

The atmosphere was ominous as a man largely concealed by the darkness of the night made his way into a cemetery with a flashlight in his hand. Looking around, he made his way to a row of tombstones placed at the far back of the place.

As he shined his light on the tombstones, one could make out names such as Leon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, Christopher Belmont, Soleiyu Belmont, Juste Belmont, and a few more others, all of them having Belmont as their last names. He stopped the light on two particular tombstones, as the ground before them had been dug up. Looking into the hole created, he was shocked to see that there were no coffins down there.

"Who... Who could've done this?!" said the man in shock.

The names written on the tombstones of the stolen coffins wrote _Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont_.

* * *

A Game2002 Production

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SUPER SMASH BROS.  
(featuring Zombie Land Saga)

 **THE SONG OF LIGHT**

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 **Opening Theme  
** **Lifelight**

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Search your soul and reawaken the undying light_

 _On that day, when the sky fell away_  
 _Our world came to an end_  
 _In our eyes, did a fading sun rise in the dark?_  
 _Glimmering shadows_

 _Silence grows, in the spaces between_  
 _stretching out beyond time_  
 _Rising up, as a chorus of souls find a voice_  
 _flickering through the void_

 _These little sparks, cling on to life,_  
 _everyone caught in the struggle,_  
 _And then the storms of change, they fan the flames_  
 _scattering ashes to the wind_

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _gleaming faintly as it dwindles from sight_  
 _No escape, no greater fate to be made_  
 _In the end, the chains of time will not break_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Search your soul and reawaken the undying light_

 _As fate spins a thread without end,_  
 _new life draws its first breath,_  
 _Blossoming in a soil reclaimed from the past,_  
 _where destiny holds fast,_

 _Here where we stand, hand clenched in hand_  
 _everyone caught in the struggle,_  
 _This is the day we finally find our way_  
 _stepping into our tomorrow_

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _growing louder as it calls to unite_  
 _From the distance sings a chorus of souls_  
 _rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight_

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _growing louder as it calls to unite_  
 _From the distance sings a chorus of souls_  
 _rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight_

 **Theme Ends**

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 **Chapter 1  
Setting the Stage**

* * *

It has been some time since the incident with the Cybertronians, AKA the Smashers, Autobots, and Dinobots versus the Decepticons, and all was quiet for the Smashers as they relaxed in their mansion located in Onett.

Bowser, Falco, and Mr. Game & Watch were in the living room, slacking off on the couch while watching TV, a favorite pastime of theirs. Parry the parrot was in his cage located right next to the couch, watching TV as well.

"Reports of dinosaurs being seen wandering around Dry Dry Desert has been a hot topic in these recent days," said the female news reporter on the TV. "We now interview some eyewitnesses to these dinosaurs."

The scene then changed to a Toad dressed like a traditional Arabian being interviewed. "It's true! They're like wearing armor all over their bodies and marching through the desert!" he said. "I was so shocked that I hid behind a sand dune without trying to take a picture of them first, and when I looked up after about a minute, they were gone! I didn't have my camera or smartphone with me that time either..."

Next, a Dry Bone was interviewed. "I saw it with my own two eyes! Chills traveled down my spines when I saw their terrifying faces and overall appearance! I was trembling so hard that my bones could've fall apart on spot! Good thing was I wasn't standing in their line of sight!"

A Pokey was the third person, if it could even be considered a person, to be interviewed. "I was petrified with fear by what I saw, so much that I wet myself with the water I've stored inside my body over time!"

The fourth person was another Toad, and a younger looking one at that. "I finally have proof that dinosaurs don't have feathers like those stupid scientists are claiming! Instead, they have armor, which is even better than scales!"

The scene changed back to the news reporter. "So far, there has been no photographic evidences of these dinosaurs, so whether or not these people are telling the truth will be further investigated. We will keep you up-to-date with any new discoveries."

When the report was finished, Bowser said, "Geez... Can't Grimlock and his group keep a low profile...?"

"It's hard to keep a low profile with appearances like that," said Falco. "Why'd they decide to stay here on Tooneria anyway?"

"Maybe our planet has something theirs don't have?" asked Parry.

"I wonder what could it be?" asked G&W.

"Hot girls?" said Bowser. This caused the others to stare at him for a few seconds as if they found his answer to be outlandish. They then turned their heads back to the TV.

"They popped out of nowhere a couple of months ago, but in just a short time, the pop idol group Franchouchou has managed to win the hearts of several idol fans in Japan," said the new reporter as she continued on with her news. The footage then showed seven fancily-dressed girls dancing and singing happily on stage, while the audience went wild over them.

"Some of their performances have been met with shocking circumstances, but regardless of things, they continued to perform," continued the news reporter. "One time during the Saga Rock Festival, a thunderstorm occurred during their performance and destroyed the stage, but they continued their performance as if nothing happened, much to the amazement of the crowd. Another time, a powerful blizzard struck the auditorium they were performing in and destroyed much of the windows and equipment, but they kept on performing and wowed the audience to no end. It's not far-fetched to say that they have made themselves a legend with these occurrences!"

"Oh yeah, Jigglypuff was watching their performances on TV these past months," said Parry after seeing this news. "She seems have become a huge fan of them!"

"No surprise, considering her love for music and singing, which wouldn't be bad if it weren't for the fact that we all fall asleep whenever she sings..." said Falco.

"I have to admit. This Franchouchou is pretty cool, but I still prefer Hatsune Miku!" said Bowser.

The news reporter continued. "Currently, they are on their way to Transylvania for the Golden Stag Festival being held there that will happen four days from now."

"Transylvania? Some of us just went there today!" pointed out G&W.

"You're right," said Falco. "And Jigglypuff is there as well, right?"

"I do remember her begging Mario to take her along, so I guess she was up-to-date on Franchouchou's activities and so wanted to tag along after learning he's got a ticket to that place," said Parry.

"Well, I hope they have a great time there and not run into any vampires," said Falco.

"Vampires?" said Parry curiously.

"Yeah, Count Dracula, whose existence is still being debated even to this day," replied Bowser.

* * *

When people think of Transylvania, they tend to think about vampires and various other kinds of monsters. However, if one were to look past the existence of these monsters, they would find a beautiful land with lots of historical values to it.

That was what the Smashers Mario, Luigi, Peach, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Lucario, Greninja, Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, Pit, Dark Pit, and Jigglypuff were here to see when Mario won a ticket to this beautiful region of Romania that allowed him to bring a certain number of people with him.

Picking up his luggage from the conveyor belt carrying various luggage and baggage, Mario said, "That's-a all of mine stuff! Everyone else found theirs?"

"Still looking for my sword," said Link as he eyed every luggage on the conveyor belt carefully. Rather than wearing his usual green tunic this time, the Hylian was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of light brown pants.

"Did you have to bring your sword and shield with you...?" asked Zelda, who was standing behind him. Zelda had a different look this time around, most notably having blonde hair rather than brown. Her appearance could also be said to look younger and, perhaps, cuter. The female Hylian had dyed her her and given herself a face lift a while back, which explains her slightly different appearance.

"Here it is!" said Link in glee when he noticed a two objects shaped like a sword and shield wrapped in paper. Picking them up, he told her, "Once you're an expert in weapons, you always find yourself hard to separate from them!"

"I know how to use a sword, but I never find the need to use it at all," said Ganondorf, standing not too far away next to his luggage and with his arms crossed. After having a beard for a long time, the Gerudo finally shaved himself and even applied a bit of gel to his hair to give them a somewhat spiky appearance. "This shows that I'm not reliant on weapons of any kind to fight and am perfectly capable of dishing out beatings with my bare hands, unlike you."

"Each to his own," said Link. Though he felt like this was meant to mock him for being reliant on his weapons to fight, he tried not to show an form of anger.

After having picked up their luggage, they made their way to the departure area to meet their tour guide, who they were told beforehand would guide them throughout their stay in Transylvania. Looking around, Pit asked, "How do we know who our tour guide is?"

"I'm sure he'll be holding up a sign to notify us," replied Dr. Mario.

Peach eventually noticed a young man with neatly-trimmed brown hair standing not too far away holding over his head a massive sign that wrote _It's-a me, Toor Gyde! Remember be? I'm your tour guide for your stay in Transylvania!_

"I think I found him..." said Peach, pointing at that person.

The Smashers went up to the man, who became excited when he saw them and rushed up to them after tossing the sign away carelessly, hitting someone as a result, and grabbed and shook Mario's hand. "Smashers! I'm so glad to see you again! Remember me? It's me, Toor Gyde! I..."

"Yes, yes..." Mario said to him while having his arm being shook up and down with great intensity. "You were our guide when we went to Lycia a while back."

Toor pumped his fist in happiness. "Yes! I knew you would still remember me! When I heard that I'm going to be your guide here, I was so excited and couldn't wait to meet you folks!"

"I thought you work in Lycia?" Luigi asked him.

"I go wherever the travel agency wants me to go, and I happen to be sent here a few days back," Toor told him. "Because of the Golden Stag Festival, quite a bit of tourists have been attracted here, so the agency needs extra hands. Anyway, let me check your attendance." He took out a notebook and began listing off the names of the Smashers present. "Let's see... Mario Mario, Luigi Mario, Peach Toadstool, Doctor Mario Mario, Link, Zelda Hyrule, Ganondorf Dragmire, Pit, Dark Pit, T. Yoshisaur Munchkoopas..."

When everyone heard that, they turned to look at Yoshi with a surprised look. "T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas?! That's your full name?!" Link asked him.

"Yeah," replied the green dinosaur with a nod.

"I never knew that, and we've known you for so long..." said Zelda.

Ignoring Zelda, Yoshi said, "Oh yeah, we have three Pokemon with us." He held up two Pokeball as he said this. "Lucario and Greninja are in here. Jigglypuff is inside the one with Peach."

"Okay, that would be thirteen people in all," said Toor as he jotted down stuff onto his notebook. "Well, if you have nothing else to do, then..."

"Mario! What are you doing here?!" asked a voice in surprise. They all turned around and were surprised to see Wario and Waluigi standing there. Wario was the one who spoke.

"Wario and Waluigi?!" Mario said in surprise. "What-a are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!" Wario told him. "But if you want to know, we're here to participate in the Golden Stag Festival. They say you can get a lot of prize money if you perform well enough, so the both of us decided to make some quick cash after practicing our two-man band together!"

"Get ready to have your world rocked by our performance on that day!" Waluigi told the Smashers, sounding proud.

"Always the opportunist, huh...?" commented Luigi. "By the way, did we ride the same plane? Didn't see you both on our plane at all..."

"Don't know if we rode the same plane, but we sat in the business class area, unlike you folks, probably only sat in the economic area!" said Wario, sounding proud.

Dr. Mario was surprised to hear this. "You sat at the business class area?!"

"Actually, that's because the seats there are the only ones that Wario can fit into," Waluigi told him. "Because we're related, I was allowed to sit there as well!"

"More like they couldn't stand your childish tantrums that they let you in there..." Wario corrected him.

"OHMYGOSH! PEACH?! IS THAT YOU?!" shouted a girl's voice all of a sudden. It was so loud that everyone in the area jumped up. All eyes turned to a brown-haired girl wearing a yellow, frilly dress rushing to the Smashers at a fast speed. She stopped in front of Peach, grabbed her hands, and shook her arms incredibly hard while jumping up and down nonstop with sparkling eyes. "IT REALLY IS YOU, PEACH! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME!"

Peach took a few seconds to regain her composure from the shock, and then she said, "Daisy?!"

The girl she referred to as Daisy nodded her head fast. "Yes, it's me, Daisy!"

A smile appeared on Peach's face as the girl in pink hugged Daisy tightly. "Wow! It's really been a long time!"

"Daisy? As in the princess of Sarasaland?!" asked Luigi in surprise.

Peach and Daisy separated from each other, and the former nodded. "Indeed. The both of us met with each other every once in a while before I left Mushroom Kingdom to live with you all in Onett. We never met each other again after that."

"I was surprised when the princess of Mushroom Kingdom decided to live out of her land in order to experience the life of living like a commoner," said Daisy. "I thought I would never see you again, but here we are, finally side by side with each other again!"

"Yeah, it's definitely a surprise to see you here," Peach said to her. "What are you...?"

As if knowing what she was going to say, Daisy interrupted her. "I'm here on vacation and also to see the Golden Stag Festival! Lots of well-known bands and music groups are participating in this one today. I'm a huge fan of music, so this is an opportunity I must never miss!"

"Well, we came here because Mario won a ticket for us to come here for vacation," Peach told her while pointing his hand at Mario.

Turning to Mario, Daisy grabbed and shook his hand hard. "Nice to meet you, Mister Mario! Thank you so much for winning a ticket to this place on this day so that I could reunite with Peach! Thank you so much!"

"You're... You're welcome...!" said Mario, surprised by her hyperactive personality.

Just then, a blue Toad came over to them and said to Daisy, "Princess Daisy, if you don't mind, the escorts are waiting. We have to get to the booked hotel on time."

"Just a minute, okay?" Daisy said to him, and then she asked Peach, "Which hotel are you staying at? I'm staying in Plaza V Executive Hotel."

"Um, I think it's called Hunter Prince Castle and Dracula Hotel," replied Peach.

"Ooh! Nice! Too bad we aren't staying in the same hotel, but don't worry, I'll definitely find ways to meet you!" said Daisy. "Anyway, I have to go now, but let's get in contact with each other again! By the way, mind adding me to your LINE first?"

Peach nodded before taking out her smartphone to add Daisy to her LINE. After that, Daisy turned around to leave with the blue Toad, but then she saw something that grabbed her interest greatly, so much that she rushed towards it, kicking away the Toad as a result.

"Wow... She's really hyper..." commented Zelda.

"That's Daisy for you," Peach told her. "She's been like that ever since we're kids."

"You guys staying at Dracula Hotel? What coincidence! We're both staying there as well!" Wario said to Mario in a way that sounded like frustration.

"Well, hope we have fine time there togetha!" Mario said to him, trying to sound friendly.

* * *

A group of seven(?) girls were standing next to their luggage as if waiting for someone. Looking at her watch, a girl of about 18 years old with blonde hair tied into a ponytail said in frustration, "Geez, he sure is taking his time in the bathroom..."

"Got lost, perhaps? If it were me, I'd get lost too," said a girl of about 19 with brown hair tied together to vaguely form a heart shape at the front. Looking around, she saw lots of people moving around nonstop. "I think this is the first time I've been in such a crowded and busy place, not counting our concerts, that is."

"Airports are some of the busiest places in the world," a blue-haired little girl(?) told her. "Tons of people travel in and out of different countries everyday."

"Didn't realize that traveling overseas is so popular with people nowadays," said the brown-haired girl. "Times sure have changed..."

Another brown-haired girl, one with untied hair, noticed one of their members, a white-haired girl, looking as if she was feeling unwell. "Junko, are you all right?" the former asked her.

"I'm fine... I'm glad nothing happened to the plane this time..." said the white-haired girl, sounding scared.

"Yeah, the last time you rode a plane, it crashed, and you died in it..." said the brown-haired girl. "Buy hey, I'm sure planes are much safer to ride in this time because of better technology, so be happy that nothing happened!"

"OHMYGOSH! IT'S FRANCHOUCHOU!" shouted someone all of a sudden. They were surprised by the sudden shouting and turned to see Daisy rushing over to them like a lioness going after her prey. She stopped right in front of the surprised girls and looked at them with eyes that sparkled so brightly that they could lit up a cave. "IT REALLY IS YOU! THE FRANCHOUCHOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SEEING YOU GIRLS RIGHT NOW!"

The girls were going to say something, but then Daisy began grabbing each of their hands and shaking them hard. "NO. 1! YOU LOOK SO MUCH CUTER UP CLOSE! I REALLY LOVE YOUR DANCING AND SINGING!"

Trying to maintain her composure, the brown-haired girl, Sakura Minamoto, said, "Tha... Thanks!"

"NO. 2! YOU'RE THE COOLEST OF THE BUNCH! I LOVE THE AURA OF AWESOMENESS YOU EXUDE!" Daisy said to the blonde girl while shaking her head.

Unlike Sakura, this girl, Saki Nikaidou, was able to keep her composure and maintain a smile on her face. "Glad to meet an enthusiastic fan like you!"

Next was a black-haired girl with small flowers decorating her head. "NO. 3! IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO MEET YOU!"

"Nice to meet you too!" said that girl, Ai Mizuno, while trying to maintain her composure in front of a hyperactive fan.

Daisy went to the white-haired girl next. "NO. 4! I LOVE YOUR FLUFFY HAIR! IT'S SO CUTE!"

Somewhat freaked out by the princess's hyperactive personality, the white-haired girl, Junko Konno, said nervously, "Than... Thank you!"

Next, she shook the hand of the other brown-haired girl. "NO. 5! WOW! YOU'RE PROBABLY THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AND MATURE OF THE BUNCH! I BET LOTS OF MEN LIKE YOU! IF I WAS A MAN, I WOULD ASK YOU TO MARRY ME RIGHT NOW!"

Smiling, the girl known only as Yuugiri said, "Thanks for the compliment!"

Daisy shook the hand of the blue-haired girl(?) next. "NO. 6! YOU'RE SO TINY AND CUTE! I HOPE YOU NEVER GROW UP SO THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS REMAIN CUTE!"

Smiling, the girl(?), Lily Hoshigawa, said, "Don't worry! I'll never grow up for the sake of my fans!"

Finally, Daisy shook the hand of the last member of the group, a black-haired girl who had remained silent and somewhat expressionless all this time. "AND YOU'RE NO. 0! YOU'RE EQUALLY AWESOME!"

That girl, Tae Yamada, simply made incomprehensible noises, though Daisy didn't seem to care. All of a sudden, Tae's entire arm fell off and slipped out from the lengthy sleeve of her shirt from the hard shaking Daisy was giving her. Everyone present stared at the dismembered arm in silence for several seconds.

A look of shock then appeared on each of the idol members' faces, and then Sakura hurriedly snatched the arm from Daisy and attached it back into Tae's sleeves. "It's... It's a magic trick! Just a neat trick she picked up, that's all!" Sakura nervously told Daisy.

"WOW! WHAT AN AWESOME TRICK!" Daisy exclaimed while jumping up and down rapidly. The princess then stopped jumping to take a deep breath. She then said, "Sorry, I got a bit too excited..."

"A bit excited? More like ridiculously and unnecessarily excited..." Junko said in her head while maintaining a smile on her face.

"I'm a huge fan of you girls, so I couldn't contain my excitement when I saw you!" continued Daisy. "The reason I came all the way here is because I heard that you lot are going to perform at the Golden Stag Festival. I missed out the opportunity to visit you in person when you were performing in Japan, and after seeing your super awesome performances on TV multiple times, I decided that I must see you all in person at least once, and this is the best opportunity!"

"Then we hope to see you at the festival and look forward to our performance! We won't disappoint you or any of our fans!" Ai cheerfully told her.

Then looking at Ai, Junko, and Lily carefully, Daisy said, "You know, when I first saw you three on TV, I was like 'Hey, aren't those Ai Mizuno, Junko Konno, and Lily Hoshigawa?'" On hearing this, a massive chill went down the spines of those three girls while their eyes widened. Looks of shock also appeared on Sakura, Saki, and Yugiri's faces, but not Tae's, though that was normal for her.

"But then I remembered those three died years ago, so that's not possible. Poor girls... Died so young, and they had such a great future ahead of them... Anyway, the three of you really do look like them! Either you're their relatives or dressed up like them because you're their biggest fans," continue Daisy.

Trying to look as calm as possible, Ai said, "Yeah... Some... Something like the latter..."

"As much as I love to stay around longer to chat with you all, I'm afraid I have to go now!" said Daisy as the blue Toad she just kicked away walked to her with a grumpy look. "Anyway, I hope you all a good time here and may your performance at the Golden Stag Festival go smoothly! No matter what happens, keep on performing, just like during those thunderstorm and blizzard incidents! Bye now!" She then left with the blue Toad.

After she was gone, the girls sighed in relief. "Phew... That... That was close..." said Ai. "She nearly recognized us..."

"Good thing she didn't... I wonder how she's going to react if she finds out that... we're zombies..." said Junko in slight fear.

"Actually, if you think about it, maybe we don't have to worry too much about being outed as zombies here!" said Saki. "Isn't Transylvania known for monsters roaming around at night? Maybe there are zombies as well, so we can blend in perfectly!"

"The point is that we're not supposed to let anyone know we are zombies..." Ai reminded her, to which the latter responded by scratching by the back of her head while sticking out her tongue, meaning she forgot about that.

Indeed, the recent rising star Franchouchou actually consists of six girls and one cross-dressing boy who died years ago and were brought back to life as zombies by their producer, who they had to admit was still something of a mystery to them, as they do not know his background and even how he brought them back to life as zombies either.

All they knew was that he wanted them to help revitalize his beloved homeland, the Saga region of Japan, and believed that having a popular idol group would do the trick. So far, the group had succeeded in winning the hearts of the population there, but they knew it was still going to be along way before they achieve worldwide fame.

Perhaps an overseas performance was exactly what they needed, which is why their producer told them one day that they were going to participate in the Golden Stag Festival, the biggest music contest in the coming days.

"I just realized..." said Lily. "That woman just now is the princess of Sarasaland, Princess Daisy!"

The others were surprised to hear this. "What?! She's a princess?!" said Sakura with widened eyes.

"Well! What do you know? We managed to get a royalty to become our fan!" said Saki, sounding proud. "In that case, we should do the best we can in order to not disappoint her!"

"Being able to have a royalty as an audience sure is great honor!" said Yuugiri.

"Hey girls! I'm back!" said a rather cheerful voice of a man. They turned to see a brown-haired man wearing shades approaching them. "You all miss me?" The producer of the group, Kotaro Tatsumi, had returned from using the bathroom.

They all stared at him with unimpressed looks, though Saki had a relatively annoyed look. "You're late!" she angrily said.

* * *

Toor led the Smashers out of the airport and headed towards a tour bus parked not too far away," he told them. "If all of you are ready, let's get on board! Don't worry about having to use the bathroom, because that bus comes equipped with one! Handy, eh?"

"Moa public transportation should-a come with one eef you ask-a me," said Mario, approving of what he heard.

"Please wait a minute, Mister Gyde," Pit told the tour guide. "There is still one person who has yet to arrive. She said she will arrive at around the same time we get here."

Surprised and curious, Toor asked him, "Huh? How come I don't know this? I was told that you are the only ones coming, not counting the Pokemon."

"Because she has no need for a plane and can come here all by herself," Dark Pit told him.

Toor was even more confused and was going to ask again. Before he could say anything, a flash light suddenly appeared next to them, surprising them all. The light disappeared, and in place was a set of golden doors that swung open almost as soon as it appeared. Out of the door stepped a beautiful green-haired woman wearing a sleeveless dress and a sunhat, not to mention pulling a wheeled luggage behind her. Smiling and tilting her head to the side slightly, the woman said, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Lady Palutena!" Pit happily said as he ran in front of her. "It's great of you to finally make it here!"

"You kept us waiting," Dark Pit said to her in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Oh, come on... We barely waited for her at all..." Link said to the black angle. "You're just finding an excuse to get mad!" But Dark Pit ignored him.

Toor was mesmerized by the stunning beauty who appeared behind them, so much that he couldn't say anything or take his eyes off her. Noticing this, Ganondorf waved his hand in front of his face a few times and said, "We can leave now, can we?"

Toor returned to his senses and said, "Well, I'm sure the agency won't mind an extra person tagging along! Though I'm not sure if the hotel..."

"Don't worry about that, because I've already made a reservation there!" Palutena told him.

"Oh, that's good to hear!" said Toor. "In that case, let's go aboard the bus!"

* * *

Pokemon trainer Blue, a teenage girl with long brown hair, was walking happily out in a flower field located close to the hotel she and her family checked into when they came to Transylvania. Being born in a country populated by Pokemon and never having left regions with such creatures, it felt weird for her at first to come to a place where Pokemon do not exist.

She had heard about stories of dangerous monsters, most notably vampires, living in this place, so it gave the impression that Transylvania wouldn't be a nice-looking place. The latter was proven wrong when she finally arrived and saw the beautiful scenery of nature and the historical sights it had to offer.

Standing atop a small hill, she spread out her arms and took a deep breath of the fresh air with her eyes closed. Opening her eyes with a large smile, she suddenly saw perhaps the least expected thing of all time. A burst of blue light appeared high up in the sky, creating a swirling wormhole as a result, and shortly after it expanded to a notable size, a futuristic spaceship came flying out of it. "What in the?!" she said in surprise.

She glued her eyes to the spaceship as it flew across the sky at a decent speed and slowly made a u-turn while descending its altitude. The spaceship eventually landed not too far away on an empty patch of grass.

Blue ran up to the spaceship and stood a few meters away from it while watching it in awe. When the hatch opened, she had the urge to run and hide, in case that someone unfriendly would come out, yet for some reason, she didn't leave her spot at all but instead stayed to watch in curiosity.

A winged creature resembling a pterodactyl stepped out of the hatch and looked around while shielding his eyes from the sun shining down onto his face. Being in the dark interior of the spaceship for while would do this to a person's eyes. A chill went down Blue's spines when she saw the somewhat intimidating appearance of the creature, though it wasn't like she never saw weird-looking beings in her life. After all, she lives on a continent thriving with bizarre creatures known as Pokemon, and Tooneria is a planet where all sorts of living things coexist.

The creature noticed the girl standing in front of him and was a bit surprised, and the latter responded by taking a step back while inching her hand towards one of her Pokeballs in case she had to use it to defend herself. Noticing the Pokeballs, the creature said, "Oh, they have Pokemon in this world as well?"

"You... You can talk?" asked Blue in surprise.

"Of course I can! Not sure if that's supposed to be some kind of stereotype..." said the creature as he walked out of the spaceship entirely. "So... how long have you been standing there?"

"Um... Ever since your spaceship appeared out of a wormhole in the sky...?" replied Blue nervously.

"Oh, so you saw everything from the beginning..." said the creature. "Not sure if that makes things any easier to explain... Eh, what the heck... I'll just be blunt with you, even if it sounds unbelievable." Blue paid attention to him eagerly as he cleared his throat to begin introducing himself. "My name is Ridley, and I come from a parallel universe."

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

At last, my first Smash Bros. story after Ultimate's release! I bet many of you have been looking forward to this! I had people asking me how I was going to handle Ridley in this series, since some of you might still remember that he was killed off in Darkling. Well, here's the answer: this new Ridley comes from a parallel universe and is a good guy and also not too big!

It actually took me a while to come up with this idea. I originally planned to resurrect the original Ridley somehow, but since I've established him to be evil, combined with the fact that he isn't the kind of person to do anything heroic even in the slightest, I ultimately went with the idea of having a Ridley who comes from an entirely different universe.

And yes, that is Dark Samus and Piranha Plant with him. More info regarding Dark Samus's background will be revealed later in the story. I'm not sure if there's really any necessity in giving Piranha Plant a background... Eh, we'll see...

Blue is the female Pokemon Trainer. I named her Blue after her counterpart in the Pokemon Special manga. Some people might know her as Green, but that's the English name. In Japan, she's called Blue, which is what I'm going with here.

And as you might have noticed, this story is listed as a Smash Bros. and Zombie Land Saga crossover. The latter has quickly became one of my top favorite anime just after the first episode! I have no interest in idol genres, but this series's bizarre concept and its incredibly awesome and lovable characters got me hooked! Too bad it ended already, but there's clearly going to be a second season. Why else would they end the last episode with a post-credit scene like that? In fact, the voice actresses seem to be implying there will indeed be a second season or at least an OVA!

And Lily is a cross-dressing boy, not a trans girl. You **CANNOT** convince me otherwise.

I didn't intend for this story to be a crossover between the two at first, though I did intend for the ZLS cast to show up regardless. After much pondering, I decided to categorize this story as a crossover between those two. Expect to see the Franchouchou pop out throughout the story and occasionally interacting with the Smashers! Though I still have to remind you that this story will favor more towards the Smash Bros. side, as this is more of their story, while the ZLS side is more of a guest appearance.

Not all the Ultimate newcomers will be showing up in this story. Not only do I not know how to fit everyone into it, it will also become too crowded if they all show, thus making the story a mess and hard to write. Some of them will be saved for future stories instead, so I apologize beforehand that you may not necessarily see the newcomer you want showing up here.

I'm also grateful that an official vocal version of Lifelight exists! I'm going to have it play in another part of the story again, and in a way that I think will be epic! Please look forward to it!

In case people don't remember, Toor Gyde is my OC who first showed up way back in my Smash Bros. and Negima crossover, Magister Saga. There's really not much to him. He simply served as the tour guide for the Smashers when they visited Lycia, the country Roy rules over. It makes sense for the Smashers to have a tour guide, and Toor came to my mind all of a sudden, so I reused him. And for those out of the loop, Parry is my OC as well.

I had to do research on Transylvania when I did this story in order to be as accurate as possible to real life, though I'm sure that there will still be cases where I make things up. Maybe if you come from Transylvania, you can help me with a thing or two? Either way, the two hotels mentioned here are actual hotels located there. And the Golden Stag Festival is an actual music contest held there. Since we're talking about Zombie Land Saga here, there has to be music involved and therefore a place for them to perform at.

But you might be asking, "Why did I make the setting of this story Transylvania of all places?" I think it should be obvious if you've read the beginning of the story carefully. I mean, check the tombstone names... I think you know where I'm going with this story already.

Either way, I'm really excited about this story. In fact, I had lots of excitement working on this story, a feeling I haven't had in quite a while! As for my other story, Justice of Two Worlds, I will still work on that story, but progress on that one will be slowed down in favor of this one. While I do have the future for that story planned out, I admittedly have not gone into details regarding things, so I'm in quite a writer's block with that story. There is also concern about the quality of that story lately, so I want to take my time to polish things up before releasing its chapters.

I hope you look forward to this story. I really want to give it my all into this story to satisfy those who have been reading my Smash Bros. stories for so long, so please let me know what your thoughts are so far in your reviews and look forward to more!

Thank you for support!


	2. They Meet

Thanks for the reviews! Due to the Smash Bros. and Zombie Land Saga categories being pretty dormant, I wasn't expecting a whole lot of reviews, but nevertheless, I'm glad that I still got four, and they're all positive ones!

Because this story has just started, I feel the need to post a few more chapters at a fast speed before going back to work on Justice of Two Worlds. For those who want to see that story updated again, please be patient with me and allow me to make some progress with this story first.

 **Chapter 2  
They Meet**

* * *

Having board the tour bus, the Smashers took their time to look out the window at the scenery out there and ignoring everything Toor was telling them for the most part, but the latter didn't seem to mind, however. This was also the case when he guided the Smashers around in Lycia: they would ignore him for the most part but in the end still thank him for his services. While they talked about what they saw out there, Toor rambled on about their current location and gave brief historical facts about it, even though nobody appeared to be listening to him.

"I can't wait to see what kinds of delicacies they have here!" Yoshi told no one in particular. "Too bad Kirby didn't come along! I'm sure he would love it!"

Overhearing him, Luigi looked at him from behind, as the former was sitting behind him, and said, "This is the reason you tagged along, right?"

Turning back his head to look at Luigi, the green dinosaur asked, "Why did you think I came in the first place?"

"I don't know... Maybe like escaping the IRS because of tax fraud?" replied Luigi.

The two stared at each in other silence for a while, and then Yoshi said, "That's actually what I told Kirby, which is why he didn't tag along!" Luigi gave him a "you kidding me?" kind of stare in response.

"So... is that true? About committing tax fraud?" Luigi asked him.

Yoshi kept on looking at him, and the plumber noticed that he was beginning to sweat profusely while looking away. "Nah... I just made that up..." said the green dinosaur nervously, but the plumber narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

As Toor continued rambling on about information of the current location, Pit raised his hand to get his permission to ask something. "Mister Gyde, is it true that Transylvania is home to several kinds of monsters?"

"You're not wrong about that," replied Toor. "There are indeed reports of monsters and ghosts roaming around every once in a while, especially at night, no surprise. However, compared to the olden days, such sightings are no longer common, and so are attacks on citizens. Monsters can actually be very civilized! Plus, there are law enforcers and specialized demon hunters who make sure that monsters don't cause any harm to citizens. Where we are going, you can be sure that we won't run into monsters or at least get harmed by them! But then, I'm sure you folks are too strong to be scared by them! After all, you guy saved Lycia from a giant monster!"

"Yep! We did!" said Mario with a nod, remembering the time they battled the Cruncher Darkling in Lycia and stopping Fawful's evil plans from coming to fruition with the help of some special students from a school called Mahora Academy.

"So anyway, we'll be checking into your hotel first, and then we'll spend the rest of the day touring the nearby town," said Toor. "Dinner will be served at the hotel tonight. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet, plus a performance from a some kind of dance group, if I remember correctly."

"Oh boy! All-you-can-eat buffet!" said Yoshi excitedly as he licked his lips.

"Oh no..." said Luigi, dreading the hardship the chefs and even the hotel staffs might go through if a big eater like Yoshi is treated with this sort of buffet.

* * *

After arriving at the airport, Kotaro wasted no time in renting a van for the purpose of traveling around and bringing his idol group from place to place. This was the best option for them, since they are celebrities and can therefore attract too much attention if they traveled with other tour groups. Furthermore, they aren't even in any tour group. This also allows them to hide their identities as zombies more easily.

It so happened that the hotel they were staying in throughout the duration of the stay was Hunter Prince Castle and Dracula Hotel. Parking the van in the parking area outside the main building, everyone inside stepped out and stretched their limbs, not to mention unloading their luggage. Kotaro told them, "After we've checked into our rooms, I'll take you to the stage where the Golden Stag Festival will take place to let you know what that place is like, and then feel free to have some fun there until we come back. You'll be having a performance tonight during dinner, so get ready by then."

"What?! You didn't tell us that at all!" Saki said to him, sounding surprised and even annoyed. "You're always coming up with things at a whim!"

"Idols stuff always happen at a whim! Plus, you've been with me for a while now, so you should expect something like this! Get used to it!" the producer said to her loudly as he brought his face up close to hers, to which she stared back in frustration.

Saki growled angrily. While she was thankful that he brought them all together and made them famous, she still couldn't get over his crazy habit of coming up with random things out of nowhere and giving them little to no time to prepare. Sakura placed her hand on her shoulder and said, "It's all right, Saki. I'm sure we can come up with something! Maybe we'll just pull out an old song and do some old dance moves. It's not like the people here saw us perform before."

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" agreed Ai with a nod.

Turning to her with a smile, Sakura said, "All right! Then tonight's performance should be a piece of cake!"

* * *

When the creature introducing himself as Ridley told Blue that it was fine if she entered his spaceship, she was skeptical. After all, it was never a good idea to enter the ride or house of a complete straner, lest they kidnap you. Ridley did give her a choice, however, and said that he was going to spend some time inside his ship in order to gather info on this world before deciding on his next course of action.

After he returned into the ship, Blue stared at the hatch for several seconds and wondered what she should do. She couldn't help but be curious about who exactly this person was, and thinking that as long as she had her Pokemon at her side, there shouldn't be fear of getting harmed by him, so she shrugged before entering the spaceship.

The interior was relatively dark, but still bright enough to for her to find way around. Shortly after going inside, she was greeted with the sight of the potted plant with a mouth staring back at her, even though it doesn't have eyes. "Is... Is this a Piranha Plant?" she asked no one in particular. Though Piranha Plants can't be found in Kanto, their existence is still known to the people there through TVs and books on wildlife, or plant life.

"Yeah, and his name is Piranha," replied Ridley's voice from deeper inside the ship. "I know, not very creative... But he seems fine with it. Don't worry; he doesn't bite unless you provoke him."

Blue and Piranha stared at each other in silence for several seconds, and then the former decided that she didn't want to get to touch it yet in fear that it wouldn't like her, so she walked around the plant and deeper into the spaceship, all the while keeping her eyes on it, and the plant turned its head after her the whole time.

Arriving at the cockpit, she saw Ridley seated in front of a computer, which was booting up, and noticed the person clad in black armor next to him, and that person was looking at her. "It's all right, Samus," Ridley told the armored person without taking his face off the computer screen. "She's with me."

"Samus?" said Blue curiously. She felt as if she heard that name before. In fact, she found this Samus person to be rather familiar-Looking. Placing a finger on her face, she processed her brain to think if she could remember why this person was so familiar to her. Then it came to her. "I know! That's the name of one of the Smashers!"

Ridley and Samus looked at her in surprise, and the former said, "Oh, so someone named Samus exists in this world as well? I guess that is to be expected... After all, this is supposed to be the same world but having gone through different courses in history. You familiar with the Samus of this world?"

"Can't say I'm too familiar with her, though I have a friend who knows her better," Blue told him, referring to Red. "She's quite famous, belonging to a group of people known as the Smashers. They saved the world quite a few times."

Ridley was interested to hear this. "Interesting... Let's see if I can find anything about them on the internet. Gotta get myself familiar with things if I want to blend in and not look like a fool. My ship has already linked itself with the servers of this world, so my internet shoud be displaying things from your world rather than mine, which should no longer be accessible due to being in different worlds."

"I'm no tech genius, so I wouldn't know all this..." said Blue.

Haivng properly booted up the computer and connected onto the internet, Ridley turned on a web browser. "Let's begin with... seeing if a version of me exists in this world."

* * *

Franchouchou was done checking into their rooms, and as Kotaro said, he was going to take them to the Golden Stag Festival's stage to make preparations for their performance four days from now. The idols left the hotel and went up to their van to wait for their producer, who was doing who-knows-what back inside. Almost as soon as they got in front of their van, a tour bus pulled up a few meters away. They eyed the bus in curiosity as its door opened, and then one by one, anthropomorphic animals stepped down. "Looks like a tourist group," pointed out Ai.

"I suppose they'll be the dinner guests for tonight and that we'll be performing for them?" wondered Junko.

All the people who stepped down were animals, except for two humans, a young boy and a girl. The boy had brown hair, while the girl had pink hair. Eventually, an elderly turtle walking with the help of a cane stepped out of the bus, though he had a bit of hard time doing so due to having to descend the stairs, a feat somewhat difficult for someone his age. Fortunately for him, a female dog dressed like an office lady was at his side, helping him. "Please be careful, mayor," she told the turtle. "Just one more step and you're done!"

After stepping down from the bus entirely, the turtle said to her, "Thank you very much, Isabelle! Phew... Old age sure is tough... Even stairs become your biggest burden in life..."

"I can always give you a push from behind if you want to," the brown-haired boy told him with an oddly creepy smile. "It's much faster that way!"

"Villager!" the dog named Isabelle angrily said to him. "That is no way to speak to Mayor Tortimer! You should respect the mayor of your town and elders in general!"

"It's all right, Isabelle," Tortimer told her. "Villager is always like that, but he doesn't actually do the things he says. He's just trying to make an old man like me laugh!"

Then another person stepped down from the bus. It was a white dog, and the first thing he did was going to the luggage trunk to take out a guitar. When Lily saw the dog, he said in surprise, "I know him! It's K.K. Slider!"

"K.K. who?" Yuugiri asked him.

"When I was still alive, I actually performed on TV with him once!" said Lily, much to the surprise of others.

"You performed with him before?" Saki asked him.

Lily nodded with a smile. "He was a growing star at that time, coming from a place called Smashville. He came to Japan during a tour, I think, and held a television performance, and that studio contacted me, asking me if I wanted to perform with him. He had composed a piece of music, and while he can sing, he was looking for another singer, and I was asked to sing his song!"

"Wow! That's great, Lily!" Sakura happily said to her. "You got to perform with a celebrity!"

Not being able to contain his excitement, Lily rushed towards K.K. Slider as he was getting ready to move out with the other animal tourists, even though his friends told him not to be so hasty. "Mister K.K. Slider!" Lily cheerfully called out to him, grabbing his attention. The white dog curiously turned to him, as well as a few others close to him. "Mister K.K. Slider! What an honor to meet you in person! I'm a really big fan of your music!" He then pulled out a notebook out of seemingly nowhere. "Can you please give me your autograph?"

The white dog smiled gently. "It's always nice to meet a fan! I'm glad that my music managed to bring happiness to you!" K.K. Slider then took his notebook to sign his name on it, and then he gave it back to him. "Here you go!"

"Thank you very much!" Lily happily said.

"You are from Franchouchou, are you not?" K.K. Slider asked him just as the rest of the members approached them. Looking at them, he said, "I've seen your performances, and I'm impressed! It's not easy achieving a large amount of fame in just a few months. You girls clearly are dedicated to your line of work and have great passion in bringing happiness to your fans with your singing and dancing!"

"Yes! We really do enjoy being idols and bringing people happiness!" Sakura cheerfully told him.

"I heard that you came to participate in the Golden Stag Festival, right?" K.K. Slider asked them, and they gave him a yes as an answer. "I, too, am participating in it. In fact, the people of my town accompanied here to support me! I'm looking forward to this event, and I look forward to what you will bring to it as well!"

"You can be sure we'll going to bring you the most exciting performance!" Saki told him while pumping his fist.

"I look forward to it, then! Remember that it doesn't matter whether or not you win a prize," K.K. Slider told them. "What matters to us musicians and performers is that we gave it our all and mnaged to impress the audiences. The judges can judge us however they see fit, but as long as the audiences like what they saw and hear, it's all that matters!"

The girls smiled hearing him say that. As much as they would love to win first prize, they agreed that he had a point in performing their best and amazing their audiences being more important than anything else.

"It's good to be young, eh?" the turtle named Tortimer happily said. "If I am still in my youth, I'm sure I would go on stage and sing and break out some groovy dance moves for all to see!"

"Oh, I'm sure you can spin a neat groove if you get on your back and have someone spin you!" said Villager, which earned him a glare from Isabelle.

K.K. Slider then looked at Lily closely for a second, which made the latter a bit nervous for some reason. "Seeing you reminds me of a child actress who performed with me on television once," he said. "I believe her name was Lily Hoshigawa." Hearing this made Lily even more nervous than before, not to mention the other zombies. This was what she was afraid of. "You really do look a lot like her! If it weren't for the fact that she passed away, I would've mistaken you for her!"

"Yeah... It's not the first time someone said that..." said Lily, trying his best not to look nervous.

"I was greatly shocked to hear that," said K.K. Slider, sounding sad as he said this. "She's actually the first person I performed alongside with, and for someone so young, she has great talents! I don't know how she died, but it's such a tragedy that a young star would leave this world so soon..."

Hearing this made Lily sad as well. He could still remember the day he performed alongside K.K. Slider, and to his memory, the latter was a kind and lovable person who would definitely make a great friend and partner in performance. Seeing the sadness on the dog's face almost made him want to tell him the truth, but he knew he couldn't risk exposing his current identity as well as his group's to anyone else.

"I'm sure she's currently living a happy life in heaven and even performing for the angels and deities!" Lily said to him, trying to cheer him up.

"Let's hope afterlife is indeed like that!" said K.K. Slider as he started to cheer up some more. "By the way, I'd like to tell you a secret." The two then closed in on each other, and the dog whispered something into his ear, which made him surprised. After that, K.K. Slider said, "Well, I have to check into my room now. You're staying in this hotel, right? We'll definitely meet again, then!"

"Yep! We'll meet again!" Lily happily said to him. They waved their temporary farewell to each other, and then K.K. Slider left with the other animals into the hotel.

Sakura then asked Lily, "What did he say to you just now?"

"He says he knows Lily is actually a boy," Lily told him. "And I don't mean the current Lily, but the Lily before he died. Actually, Lily knows this already, because he told Lily about it that time. Lily simply pretended to be surprised just now."

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind happened out of nowhere, to which some of the girls reacted by holding their hands over their faces or holding down their skirts. Because it was so sudden, Lily's notebook flew out of his hand and into the air, and he cried out at it while attempting to go after it.

She didn't have to anymore, as out of nowhere, a person performed an amazing leap at the notebook and caught it. Landing onto the floor, the person was revealed to be a bespectacled and well-endowed woman with short, black hair wearing a rather form-fitting white dress and a sun hat. Tilting up her hat and looking at the overjoyed Lily, who ran up to her, she said to him while handing him the notebook, "Here's your book, little one. Be careful next time!"

"Thanks a lot, lady!" Lily happily said to her as she accepted the notebook. "And that was an incredible jump just now!"

"Oh, that was nothing at all. I can do more impressive things than that!" said the woman while giving a wink.

Lily thanked her again, and then the woman said good-bye to her before heading towards the hotel, dragging along her wheeled luggage. The other zombies walked up to Lily and watched with her the woman entering the hotel. "Wow... She's beautiful!" commented Junko, taking note of her assets.

"And judging from the jump earlier, I would say she's a athletic kind as well," added Yuugiri.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing her again, since it seems she's going to be staying at this hotel," pointed out Ai.

Entering the hotel, the woman walked up to the counter to sign into the room she had previously reserved. When given a book containing a list of rooms, the woman signed her name next to her assigned room number, writing _Bayonetta_.

Behind her, Kotaru was seen leaving the hotel. He headed towards the girl and told them that he had done asking the hotel manager for permission to perform for the guests at the dining area tonight. He then got them to go into the rental van before taking off for the Golden Stag Festival's performance area.

After their van took off, one could see Blue, Ridley, Samus, and Piranha behind it, walking towards the hotel. "So... what do you plan to do now?" Blue asked Ridley.

"I'll take some time to decide while staying at this hotel," he replied. "Now that I'm here, I obviously need a place to live in and a steady source of income. Can't always rely on my current savings."

While they were still on their way to the hotel, another tour bus pulled up at the parking area, and this time, the Smashers stepped down from it. "All right! We're here at the hotel!" said Toor as he got down the bus after everyone else did. "Please make sure to grab all your belongings, and then let's check into your rooms!"

Blue noticed the Smashers picking up their luggage from the bus's luggage trunk and said, "Hey, it's them! The Smashers! I didn't know they're here in Transylvania!"

"Oh, so they're the Smashers," said Ridley with interest. "Didn't expect to run into famous people like them so soon! Assuming they are as famous as the internet says..."

"I may not know them all that well, but I do know they've managed to make a name for themselves," said Blue while looking at him. "I'll try introducing you them. I don't even know if they remember who I am..."

The group of four headed towards the Smashers just as they were turning around from picking up the luggage. Noticing that the Smashers were looking in their direction, Blue waved at them with a large smile on her face and called out to them. "Hey guys! Remember me? I'm Red's friend, Blue!" However, the reaction she got wasn't an expected one at all.

Looks of shock appeared on some of the Smashers face, while some of them got into fighting stances. Link even unwrapped the paper around his sword to get ready to use it. "RIDLEY!" they all exclaimed.

Ridley was surprised by this response and took a step back, but Samus and Piranha got into fighting stances instead. The former pointed her arm cannon at the Smashers, while the latter bared his teeth and growled.

"How are you still alive?!" Mario asked the pterodactyl-like creature.

"Yeah! You're supposed to be dead!" said Luigi while hiding behind Yoshi, who was hiding behind Peach, who in turn was hiding behind Mario, who had his hand open and pointing at Ridley.

Not wanting things to escalate, Blue got in front of Ridley with her arms stretched out to the sides, and she said in panic to them, "No, wait! Whoever you think he is, he's not him!"

Recognizing the girl, Peach said, "Uh? Aren't you... Green?"

"Blue, actually..." the girl corrected her. "Yeah, I'm a friend of Red, like I said earlier. You remember him, right?"

"Yeah, we rememba him, but we want-a to know why eez Ridley with you, or eez he someone else who looks-a like him?" asked Mario.

"And why is someone who looks like Samus but I don't think is actually Samus with him?" asked Ganondorf. "And there's that Deku Baba as well..."

"Actually, that's a Piranha Plant..." Zelda corrected him.

Ridley told Samus and Piranha to calm down, and then he stepped up next to Blue with his arms raised. "Calm down, guys! Like she said, I'm not whoever you think I am! Though my name is indeed Ridley... I assume you got into the defensive because the version of me in this world got on your bad side?"

What he said confused the Smashers. "Version of you in this world? You're not making any sense..." said Link.

"I guess he means he comes from a parallel universe," pointed out Palutena, to which Ridley pointed at her and said she got it right.

"Yeah, exactly like that!" he said to the goddess. "I come from a different universe where history did not go exactly the same as this world, as I can testify to after browsing your world's internet. I even looked up the version of me in this world, only to find nothing, so I assume he either doesn't exist or is a nobody."

"Well, the Ridley we know doesn't really make himself known to the public... I think he operates in the dark all the time like a criminal, which he is," said Yoshi, and the others nodded.

"And I'm sure he's bigger than you as well," added Luigi.

"So a version of me do exist here..." said Ridley. "If I heard things correctly earlier, he's dead, right?"

"Yeah, we killed him," said Ganondorf straightforwardly.

Ridley had an unimpressed look on his face in response. "Okay... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing... for me, that is..."

The Smashers dropped their fighting stances, and Link asked him, "So you come from another world?"

"Yeah, one where I do not believe has a group called the Smashers," replied Ridley. "In fact, I don't even think I've met any version of you people in my world."

"What are you doing here anyway? And how'd you get here?" Dr. Mario asked him.

"I came here in my spaceship," replied Ridley. "It has the ability to travel through space and time."

"Where's your ship now?" Dark Pit asked him.

"Shrunk it and kept it in my possession," replied the winged creature, a response that made them raise eyebrows. "It has shrinking technology as well, and in case you're worried about it returning to normal size at the wrong place and the wrong time, it comes with a safety precaution where it will measure the size around it first before determining whether or not it can return to normal size. If there's not enough space, it won't. Impressive technology, I'm telling ya!"

The Smashers had unimpressed looks on their faces and didn't know whether or not they should believe him. Even though Blue was supporting and defending Ridley, they thought of the possibility that she was threatened by him to do so.

Knowing that they were skeptical, Ridley pointed at the hotel with his thumb and said, "Look, how about you let me check into a room first for me and my pals before they run out? I'll be happy to tell you everything afterwards. Don't you guys have rooms to check into as well?"

The Smashers looked at each other, wondering what they should do. "I think he has a point..." Toor said to them. "I'm still confused about what is happening here, but how about we check into your rooms first, and then we can talk over this quietly? No need to get violent, please..."

* * *

Rather than going to their hotel right away from the airport, Wario and Waluigi, after renting a car, headed straight to the performance area of the Golden Stag Festival.

Arriving at the plaza, they saw a large stage placed at the far end, and there were several people wandering around the place, some of them sightseeing and some of them working to get the place for use four days later.

The duo headed over to the stage and got onto it. Standing at the center front area of the stage, they looked at the sight before them and the people doing their things with looks of pride in their eyes. "This is where the world will be watching us, Waluigi!" Wario told his partner. "Four days from now, we will finally be able to put our hard work and musical practices to use!"

"We'll definitely win first prize, and the world will forever know our faces!" said Waluig with confidence. "I can see it now! Wario and Waluigi! Greatest musical stars of the century! Our faces will become the greatest merchandises in history! It will be found on everything! T-shirts, water bottles, pillows, posters! I can even imagine them putting a statue of us!"

"And we'll be filthy rich as well!" added Wario. "Imagine the endless amount of income we can get from people constantly hiring us to perform! Oh boy! Thinking of this is making me jumping for joy already!"

The duo imagined themselves bathing in their potential success, so much that they began laughing in triumph already, which grabbed the attention of everyone present. All looked at them and wondered what on earth they were laughing about, but nobody asked them.

After the duo were done laughing, they left the stage, and almost as soon as they were gone, Franchouchou came over and stood on where they once stood. Looking as far as she could with her hand over her eyes, Sakura said with delight, "Wow! This place is so big! I think this is bigger than Saga Rock!"

"Then we'll have to give it our best and even go beyond that!" said Saki with enthusiasm. "This is our first overseas performance, so let's make sure to leave behind a good impression!"

All the other zombies agreed. This was their first time traveling and performing overseas, and it felt like a great honor to be able to do something like this. They were sure their producer went through a lot of trouble to arrange all this for them, so for both his and their fans' sake, they told themselves that they were going to give the best performance they could four days from now.

"Oh boy! I can't wait!" Sakura said in her head while trembling with joy. She even hopped up and down slightly. "Let's hope nothing bad happens on that day!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Isabelle joins the battle! And Daisy too in the previous chapter. Villager and his female counterpart, named Murabito (Villager's Japanese name) and is actually his cousin in my series, return! I haven't really been using those two ever since their debut in The Strike of the Overlord. Let's see if I can give them a decent role and screen time this time around!

Admittedly, I've ended up giving the ZLS cast more screen time than intended, and I think it's probably a good thing. After all, I listed this as a crossover between Smash Bros. and ZSL, so I might as well go all out. I just hope giving more focus to the latter won't turn off anyone who came here solely for the Smash Bros. part... I can't help it now that I'm a huge fan of ZSL!

In case you don't know, Lily speaks in third person when with his group, so in case you find his way of speaking funny, know that it is true to source material and not grammatical mistakes I've made.

And Red is what I call the Pokemon Trainer in this series for those who forgot or never read my previous SSB stories.


	3. How Things Went to Hell

Well, here it is... The chapter you've all been waiting for...

I had a lot of fun typing this chapter! Let's hope it's worth your time reading!

And in case you forgot, Bayonetta first showed up in Attack of the Evil Lords and later made another appearance in Age of Monsters.

 **Chapter 3  
How Things Went to Hell**

* * *

After Ridley had checked into a room, he did as he had promised the Smashers. The group gathered at the lobby and sat around one of the tables there, where the winged creature began his story. Lucario, Greninja, and Jigglypuff were let out of their Pokeball as well. What the Smashers heard shocked them.

According to Ridley, he came from a world where the True Fans had won and successfully changed the world to their own liking. It all began when his world's version of Pompus Rath attacked the video game company Compac and murdered several people there in a fit of rage because of their supposedly outrageous DLC practices. Though he was arrested afterwards, he gave a "motivating" speech that inspired many angry gamers and consumers in general that it was time to step up and no longer tolerate greedy business practices. He told them that they are customers, and customers have the right to get what they want.

The first person to take action after this incident was the Green King. He first went around capturing business owners he deems corrupted and publicly executing them in live broadcasts. The police were never able to capture him, and over time, he created a following. His actions inspired many people to commit the same kind of atrocities, and in no time, these people all gathered together and began their movements in broad daylight, showing no mercy to anyone who got in their way. They eventually broke Pompus Rath out of prison and hailed him as a deity-like figure who made them see the light.

They began calling themselves True Fans, and their mission was to ensure that all customers get what they want.

Things wouldn't have gone from bad to worse if it weren't for the fact that their actions even inspired corrupted politcal and military figures. One would normally think that an angry everyday citizen wouldn't be able to inspire such big shots to follow him, yet that was exactly what happened. In no time, news of world leaders in certain countries being killed and having their positions usurped broke out. Their killers took the position of leaders for themselves and declared a decree that would satisfy the True Fans and all those in agreement with them.

Corruption and acts of terror ran rampant, all in the name of making customers satisfied. Any company that did not satisfy customers enough were either outright destroyed or had their owners captured or killed and replaced with people deemed more fitting and were willing to give customers everything they want.

Corrupted world leaders used this as an excuse to do whatever they want, trying to pass off their actions as justice being carried out for the happiness of everyone in the world. This ultimately resulted Hollywood getting destroyed completely in an air strike, as there were complaints about that place no longer being able to produce high quality movies.

It was also for this reason that console wars became literal. Beforehand, arguments which video game companies and consoles were the superior ones happened as arguments on internet forums, but now people took it to the next level by literally engaging in acts of violence out in the public. Different fandoms would assault each other with weapons of destruction, taking lives and destroying things.

Toxic fandoms also used this opportunity to attack anyone they deem "unworthy" of breathing the same air as them. For example, Marvel fans took insulting DC fans to the next level by attacking and killing any of the latter they come across. The former having more financially and critically successful live action movies led to them looking down and discriminating the latter and therefore resulting in this bloodshed.

Somehow, Ridley felt the need to specifically say that the creator of the Smash Bros. video game series was mercilessly killed by toxic fans who said he was ruining the series. After that, a so-called group of dedicated Smash Bros. fans tried to create the ideal Smash Bros. game. However, this game never came to fruition, as the development team ended up tearing themselves apart due to not being able to come to an agreement over things like the roster and gameplay mechanics.

Since then, things only got worse. Nobody tried to do anything about all the chaos happening throughout the world. In the words of the Green King, true happiness and justice is to be able to do whatever makes you happy. It was a saying that many people held onto and therefore led the world into a state of complete chaos.

With that, Ridley was done telling his story. The Smashers and Blue took several seconds to absorb what they just heard. They simply couldn't believe that the actions of one man could affect the world so much that it became more or less a living hell. To think that their world could've met the same fate if they hadn't done anything about the True Fans that time...

"It's hard to take what you said seriously with an appearance like that..." Link said to Ridley, breaking the silence.

"Way to go judging people by their looks!" said Ridley, sounding offended. Looking to the side and seeing a green-skinned man with an orange Mohawk typing away on his laptop, he pointed at him and said, "Are you going to tell me that someone like him is the kind of person who would go onto the internet and troll people, just because he looks like or is a troll? For all we know, he could be the chairman of some company! You can't judge a person by his looks!"

They couldn't see what that green-skinned guy was doing, but if they could, they would see that he was currently trolling people on a forum, sporting a mischievous grin on his face as he did so.

"He has a point! We shouldn't judge people by their looks!" ageed Dr. Mario with a nod. "Just look at Bowser! He may look intimidating, but he's a gentle giant!"

"Reminder that he used to be our enemy..." Luigi told him.

"Anyway, I've got picture proof that I come from a different world with me," said Ridley as he took out his smartphone. "I've done research on this place's internet and was able to confirm that there are things here that don't exist in my world." Bringing up the photo gallery, he began showing the Smashers pictures he took before his world went to hell.

He showed them a picture of a group of girls of about high school age dressed in fancy clothing singing on stage. "This is from a concert held by a Japanese idol group called Muse," Ridley told them. "I checked to see if this group exists in your world but didn't find any."

"Jigglypuff no hear Muse before," said Jigglypuff. "Jigglypuff know lots of idol group, but no hear this."

"See? Told ya!" said Ridley before changing to another picture, which showed him posing with said idol group and looking happy as he gave a peace sign. The girls had somewhat nervous looks on their faces, despite smiling and giving peace signs as well. "And here is me having a photo session with them! For some reason, they look scared, and I still don't know why..."

"I think I know why..." Peach said in her head, her reason being that they were terrified by his monstrous appearance.

He then showed a picture of himself posing in front of what appeared to be a giant mushroom. "This is a selfie of myself when I went on a vacation to the Mushroom Kingdom."

Mario and Luigi noticed two particular people in the background. Even though those two had their backs facing the Ridley, the brothers could clearly see that those two were wearing the exact same type of clothing as them: red and green shirts underneath blue overalls. "Hey! Isn't that us?" pointed out Luigi.

"Mamamia! You're right!" said Mario. Everyone else took a closer look at those two people standing in the background and agreed that those two do indeed look just like Mario and Luigi, though that Mario doppleganger appeared to be fatter than the current one. If this story had pictures, you readers would recognize those two as having the same art style as the game Hotel Mario.

Ridley observed those two people in the photo closely before looking at the Mario Bros., and then he said, "Wow... You're right... I didn't realize it until you pointed it out to me! Small world we live in, huh? Anyway, just a couple of strangers standing in the background, that's all. Nothing else..."

The next picture was a small Piranha Plant growing out of a flower pot. "That's Piranha when he was still a sapling! Bought his seed while at the Mushroom Kingdom. You think he's cute? He's male, by the way."

"My! So adorable!" commented Palutena. She then looked at Piranha with a smile, and the latter responded by curling up and smiling, looking as if he was embarrassed.

Ridley swiped his finger across the screen to move on to a different picture. This one showed a bearded man in royal orange garb walking down a row with people on both sides and being showered with praise. "This is the king of Hryule," he explained. "Got lucky enough to see him outside his castle and so snapped a picture of it!" Once again, if there were pictures in this story, you readers would recognize the king as King Harkinian from the CD-i Zelda games.

"Doesn't look too much like my father..." said Zelda.

Looking up at her, Ridley said, "Oh, does that mean you're a princess?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes, but you don't have to show too much courtesy. You can say I'm currently on an assignment to live life like a commoner in preperation for my ascension to the throne one day. My father said it's important for royalties to understand the life of commoners in order to be a good ruler."

Ridley nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Anyway..." He showed the next picture, which caused the others to raise a few eyebrows. It showed him posing among a bunch of young girls looking about ten years old, and all of them were wearing swimsuits, both one piece and two pieces. The setting was that of a swimming pool.

"What the...?" said Blue with a look of disgust.

"Oh, just a pool party I went to, nothing else..." said Ridley as he hurriedly swiped to the next picture with a look of panic on his face. This made the others wondered about the context of the picture.

The next picture wasn't so happy, as it showed a run down street with destroyed things scattered around, not to mention injured people. The Smashers were shocked at what they saw. "This is when things finally went to hell..." explained Ridley, his tone turning serious. He proceeded to show them various pictures of different locations and situations, all of them looking grim and tragic.

Destroyed buildings, injured and even dead people, people committing acts of violence, and more...

As if that wasn't enough, Ridley even showed them a video he recorded of people beating up each other violently out on the streets and even using explosives to destroy things and setting the place on fire. The Smashers could not believe the brutality they were seeing. "My god... Is this for real...?!" asked Dr. Mario.

"Such violence...!" said Palutena, disapproving of what she saw.

"Indeed... It's real... I recorded this in case I needed proof of what I said," said Ridley in a sad tone. "This was a fight between fans of Rei and Asuka from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, both sides arguing who is the better female."

"All this just because of Japanese animation characters?! This is insane!" said Yoshi.

"Never underestimate the insanity of rabid fandoms," Dark Pit told him.

After Ridley showed them all the pictures, the Smashers now believed he was telling the truth and felt bad for what happened to his world. They were all silent and didn't know what to say to him regarding this. "From what I've found out, your world has a similar history. About the True Fans, that is," said Ridley, "but you've managed to dodge the bullet when you brought them down, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but things didn't really get all that better, despite our efforts..." said Link.

"News about people stirring up chaos for selfish reasons come up every once in a while," said Ganondorf.

"But it's better than what happened to my world," said Ridley. "Plus, your world has a unified form of government called the World Government, and they have powerful military forces to keep things under check, right? My world doesn't have anything like that! I'd say your world is heaven compared to mines already!"

"Do you have any family members?" Pit asked him. "Were they left behind in that world?"

Ridley slowly shook his head. "I was born an orphan. I never found out who my parents were nor did I ever traced down any of my relatives. As far as I'm concerned, I'm all alone in this world..."

The Smashers weren't expecting this sort of answer. Being born an orphan was bad enough, but to have no traces of one's own relatives whatsoever? Could things be any more tragic for him? "I'm... I'm so sorry for asking you that..." apologized Pit, feeling guilty.

"It's all right," Ridley told him. "I grew up all by myself, teaching myself all the survival instincts I need and even learned how to fight myself. Never once did I actually feel lonely. I'm not good at making friend either, so I don't have any friends other than these two with me." He looked at Samus and Piranha when he said this, and they both felt glad that he viewed highly of them.

"What's her story anyway?" asked Dark Pit, pointing at Samus with his thumb.

Ridley took a few seconds to think before saying, "Believe it or not, she's an alien."

The others were surprised to hear this, but not a whole lot. "Aliens visited our planet before, so that lowers the shock value, I guess..." said Luigi.

"Yeah, and the last that happened, it was plain laughable..." said Link, referring to when a group of ten incredibly dumb and clumsy aliens calling themselves the Evil Lords came to take over Tooneria, but their own stupity was a big reason they failed.

"At some point, I got a job at a science facility as a technician and learned that they have discovered alien life forms called Metroids, not to mention a radioactive substance called Phazon," explained Ridley. "They exposed a Metroid to the Phazon for experimental purposes, and the former somehow underwent mutation, giving it abilities it normally don't have.

"The experiments eventually reached inhumane levels, and I couldn't bear to watch her suffer any longer, so I helped her escape. She was dying because of the experiments, so in a surprising act, she fused herself with an armored suit the facility invented in order to survive. I think that's an ability obtained from her exposure to Phazon. Needless to say, we became fugitives as a result."

Samus nodded, confirming that what he said was true. "Can't she talk?" asked Dr. Mario, and Ridley replied with a no, other than making incomprehensible sounds.

With that, Ridley more or less finished his story. The Smashers was still having a hard time believing everything they heard. Indeed, they dodged the bullet of having their world falling into the same fate as his. They couldn't believe that a different version of Pompus Rath, also known as the Fiery Hate, and the Green King would actually succeed in taking over the world and convincing everyone that their so-called justice was the right way to do things.

After all that they've heard, they were convince now that the Ridley before them was nothing like the one they've met in their own world. He was indeed a good person. "Sorry for doubting you..." Link said to him, feeling guilty.

"If the me here really did leave a bad impression on you people, then I wouldn't blame you, but I'm glad you're willing to believe me!" Ridley said to him.

* * *

After viewing the stage for Golden Stag Festival, Franchouchou was left to their own devices, as Kotaro had ran off with the intention of doing sightseeing by himself, though he told the zombies that he would be back in about two hours and told them to wait in front of the stage for him.

The group of seven went around the town and sometimes stopped before certain stores to see if there was anything interesting. They also didn't miss out the opportunity to buy local Romanian delicacies. After all, what's the point of going to another country if you're not going to eat there?

The zombies remained close to each other in order to not get lost, though they would occasionally split up for a short while to go separate places, but never going far from each other. At one point, Junko and Saki were traveling together.

Looking around, Saki asked Junko, "How are you enjoying things?"

"I'm enjoying a lot!" replied the latter. "I never got the chance to travel overseas. After my death in the plane crash, I thought I wouldn't ever want to ride an airplane again, but..."

"You would miss out lots of good things in life if you let your death hold you back, right?" interrupted Saki, finishing what she wanted to say for her. The white-haired girl nodded with a smile. "That said, I'm enjoying myself too! It would be nice if we can travel worldwide often!"

Suddenly, a scrawny guy with a bucktooth ran up to them, much to their surprise. He started a conversation with them, but due to his bucktooth, the two had a hard time trying to understand what he was trying to say. The two girls looked at him with confused expressions, wondering what on earth he was trying to tell them. "Um... Can you speak properly...?" Saki asked him as she began to look annoyed. "I can't understand what you're trying to say at all..."

"Hey you!" shouted someone all of a sudden. The all turned around to see a pair of fat guys dressed as policemen rushing over to them. Both their hats were covering their eyes, yet they were still able to see where they were going. When the bucktoothed guy saw the police coming over, he turned and ran as fast as he could.

Junko and Saki were even more confused by this event. The police surrounded them, and one of them said, "We overheard you discussing some illegal things with that man! What are you planning?"

Junko became nervous and was going to say something, but Saki spoke up first in an annoyed tone. "What are you talking about? Are you accusing us of being lawbreakers?! That guy came up to us and spoke gibberish! We had no idea what he was saying at all, and you're suddenly saying we're up to no good?!"

"Be quiet and hand over your ID cards!" the other policeman told them while reaching out his hand. "We'll be the judge to whether or not you're innocent!"

Junko was even more nervous than before, but Saki, on the other hand, became even more annoyed. Walking up close to the police and glaring at them, she said, "If I have to guess, you're a bunch of con men in cahoots with that guy just now, trying to fool us!"

"We have the right arrest you if you do not cooperate with us!" said the first policeman in a serious tone. "Now hand over your ID cards, and we'll decide what to do with you!"

"Sa... Saki... I think we should just show them our identification cards... Maybe they'll let us go afterwards..." said a scared Junko.

"What's this? Trying to mess with two beautiful maidens?" said a new voice. They all turned around to see a middle-aged man approaching. He has long brown hair tied into a ponytail and a goatee, and he is wearing a brown trench coat over a yellow shirt and a pair of jeans. "I've seen people like you one too many times. When are you ever going to drop this?"

Junko and Saki were confused at the appearance of this new person, while the two policemen stared at that man in shock. In fact, they were so shocked that their hats flew up into the air comically and spun, revealing their bald heads and round, scared eyes. "It's Julius Belmont...!" one of them said.

"Run!" the other one said. The two policemen then turned and hightailed in the opposite direction as fast as they could.

This made Junko and Saki both confused and also nervous. They didn't know who this newcomer was, but if those two ran off, then he must be dangerous. Junko cowered behind Saki, while the former got into a defensive stance in case she had to defend both themselves. Seeing that they were rather tense, the man the policemen referred to as Julius Belmont raised one hand and said, "Relax, girls. I'm not going to do anything to you. In fact, I've just save your hides from those con men."

"Con... men...?" asked a confused Junko.

"I knew it! They were definitely trying to scam us!" said Saki.

"I assume you're tourists to this place," Julius said to them. "Be careful. These people like to take advantage of tourists and leech you dry of your money and important belongings. Real police would never try to mess with you like this."

"Thanks for the heads up, mister!" Saki said to him.

"Than... Thank you, sir...!" Junko nervously said to him.

"Well, be careful, and I hope what happened won't ruin your impression of this beautiful nation!" said Julius as he walked past them to continue on his way.

"Hey mister! If you have free time, why not check out the Golden Stag Festival four days from now? We'll be performing there!" Saki called out to him.

Turning around to face them, Julius said, "Oh? Sounds interesting! Let's hope I have free time on that day!" After saying good-bye one more time, he turned to leave for real.

Junko let out a sigh and said, "That was close... Good thing he showed up to save us in time..."

"Yeah, though I think I could've handled those scammers myself," said Saki. Just then, Ai, Sakura, and Tae appeared around the corner. Ai was holding a newspaper in her hand, while Tae had a bag of bread rolls with empty interiors and was currently eating one of them. Saki waved at them and said, "Hey guys!" Going up to them, she told them about what happened just now.

Sakura was shocked to hear this and said, "How horrible! Are you all right?"

"Some guy showed up just now to help us, so it's all right now," Saki told her, and the latter felt relieved. Noticing the newspaper in Ai's hand, she asked that girl about it.

"Found it on a bench, so since it's free, I figured I might as well pick it up and see if there's anything interesting," replied Ai. "Managed to find an interesting piece of article that I think we can relate to in some way." She showed said headline to Saki and Junko. The headline talked about how the bodies of two men named Simon Belmont and Richter were stolen from their graves yesterday night.

"Why... Why would anyone do that...?" asked Junko nervously.

"Let me guess: you suddenly thought about those bodies being stolen to be resurrected as zombies, like what happened to us?" Saki asked Ai.

Ai nodded. "Yeah... I don't think there's really any way Tatsumi could've gotten his hands on our corpses in the first place without stealing them... Reading this article made me think of this..."

"So I guess there will soon be two more zombies running around! More companions for us, I guess!" said Saki. She then realized something. She snatched the newspaper from Ai to read the article in more detail. Seeing the name Belmont, she remembered that those fake policemen referred to the person who helped them as Julius Belmont. "Simon and Richter Belmont... Julius Belmont... I wonder if they're all related..."

"Um... What's wrong, Saki...?" asked a confused Ai.

* * *

Wario and Waluigi were walking down the road together, both of them munching on bread rolls they just bought. Suddenly, the scrawny person with a bucktooth ran up to them and started speaking gibberish to them, to which they responded with confused looks.

"What do you want?" Wario asked the man in annoyance.

No sooner afterwards, the two fake policemen came running up to them, and the bucktoothed man ran off, leaving Wario and Waluigi to the fakers. "We heard you discussing illegal things with that man just now!" one of the policemen said to them. "Show us your ID cards, and we'll decide what to do with you! We have the right to arrest you if you don't comply!"

Wario and Waluigi had unimpressed looks on their faces. They then lowered their heads close to each other, and Waluigi whispered into his ear. "It was a good thing we did our research on this place to see how scamming works here."

"Yeah, to both avoid getting scammed ourselves and also to scam other people ourselves," said Wario in response.

"Please show us your ID cards at once," the policeman said to them, sounding impatient.

Wario and Waluigi then turned back to them, and the former cracked his fists and said, "How about I show you something even better?"

* * *

Not too far away, Lily and Yuugiri were walking down the road together, doing sightseeing and also chatting with other. They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of crashing. They looked around in confusion but didn't see what the source of that sound was at all.

Since nothing seems to have happened, they decided to ignore it and continue their tour.

* * *

 **LINE CONVERSATION**

 **Group chat with Super Smash Kiddos started**

 **Light Angel Pit:** Is anyone there? We have safely arrived in Transylvania!

 **Okay Ness:** Good to hear that! Is it fun?

 **Youthful Link:** Hope you're enjoying yourself!

 **Light Angel Pit:** We haven't actually toured yet. The real tour begins tomorrow. Something interesting happened today, and I was given the permission to share it with you all. You may find it hard to believe.

 **Okay Ness:** What's it?

 **Light Angel Pit:** Someone named Ridley showed up, claiming to come from a parallel universe.

 **Youthful Link:** Parallel universe? Cool!

 **Okay Ness:** You sure he's not trying to trick you?

 **Light Angel Pit:** He provided proof. He's telling the truth.

 **Youthful Link:** Wait a minute... Why does that name sound so familiar?

 **Okay Ness:** Yeah, I feel the same as well...

 **Light Angel Link:** The others said there was an enemy named that, but he's now dead. This Ridley is him from another universe.

 **Okay Ness:** I think I know now.

 **Youthful Link:** No wait... Seriously?!

 **Light Angel Pit:** This Ridley is a good man. I can tell he is honest.

 **Okay Ness:** Either way, I'm sure you folks can handle it if he's lying to you.

 **Youthful Link:** Yeah, they can kick his a**!

 **Light Angel Pit:** I'm sure we don't have to.

 **Ice Climber Popo:** Hey guys! Did I miss anything?

* * *

That evening at the Hunter Prince Castle and Dracula Hotel, the dining area was rather noisy, but in a good way. The Smashers, Palutena, the folks from Smashville, Wario and Waluigi, Blue and her parents, Ridley and co., and Bayonetta were all there, seated at their tables.

While the guests enjoyed their meals happily, Franchouchou were performing for them at the back end of the room. The performance area wasn't big, but it was still enough to let them get the job done.

Because they didn't have time to come up with a new song, they used an old one instead, Mezame Returner (Awaken Returner).

As the idols danced and sang passionately with large smiles on their faces, the guests watched with equally large smiles on their faces while eating their dinner. In fact, they were enjoying the performance so much that they forgot about eating. Even someone like Yoshi had his eyes glued to the performance.

 _When were my dreams filled with that yearning?  
_ _Was it just a story hidden in my heart?  
With a reality getting vivid and even scary  
Those thoughts seem like they might vanish  
_ _I awake in the light  
Wanna succeed so get it right  
_ _Never stop so gonna succeed  
_ _Giving my all to walk this way  
_ _Heading down the path to a gentle future_

As she watched the show, Peach said to Mario, "They're talented, don't you think so?"

"Indeed!" agreed Mario with a nod.

At another table, Tortimer and some of the folks from Smashville were equally enjoying the show. "My! It indeed is good to be young!" said the turtle mayor. "If I were younger, I would definitely get on stage and dance with them!" Looking at Isabelle, he saw that the dog secretary had a happy look on her face, showing that she enjoyed what she saw, so he said to her, "Isabelle, why don't you go up there and do something too?"

Isabelle's face turned red as she said, "No, mayor... I'm not good at singing and dancing... I mean... I did have practice when I was younger, but I'm not good enough to perform for everyone!"

K. K. Slider was also at the same table, watching those idols perform with a large smile on his face. Being a musician himself, he could tell that they put a lot of effort into their dance moves and also the song.

The idols continued to pull off stylish and flashy dance moves until they finally made it to the end. Everyone gave a large round of applause and cheered for them nonstop. Some even asked for an encore. Breathing heavily to catch her breath, Sakura happily said to everyone through her microphone, "Thank you everyone for your applause! We're glad that you enjoyed it! We want to let you know that we will be performing at the Golden Stag Festival, where we will have a new song! We hope you all look forward to it!"

The audiences gave them another round of applause and praised them nonstop. The idols were glad that they managed to entertain their guests to such a degree. After thanking them for their applause one more time, they stepped down and headed over to their table to begin their dinner, which they haven't started yet.

"Phew... That was great, everyone!" Saki said to everyone. "Ya all did well!"

"I'm so glad they enjoyed it!" said Lily.

Looking around, Ai asked, "Where's Tatsumi, by the way?"

"Haven't seen him since we came back here," said Yuugiri.

Everyone was going to resume his or her meal when they saw Jigglypuff stepping up to where those idols just were. Speaking into a microphone, she said, "Jigglypuff now sing to everyone! Jigglypuff song is very good! Jigglypuff hope you like my song!" She was going to began singing when suddenly a Pokeball was thrown right at her face, hitting the latter so hard that it sank into it. The Pokeball opened up and then sucked the Pokemon inside it before falling onto the floor.

Everyone watched with dumbfounded expressions as Ganondorf walked up to the Pokeball and picked up. Turning to everyone, he said, "I apologize for what happened, but if any of you know anything about Pokemon, you would know that I did this for the sake of you all." He then walked up to the table of the Mario cast and placed the Pokeball onto the table. If one listened closely to the Pokeball, he or she could hear Jigglypuff cursing angrily.

"What was that all about...?" asked a confused Villager.

Murabito leaned over to him and said, "Jigglypuff are known for their sleep-inducing songs. That guy probably don't want us to fall asleep with our faces on our foods and suffocate as a result." Villager understood and nodded slightly in response.

Ganondorf stepped back up to the front and pointed his hand at an electric piano placed at the corner. "As an apology for cancelling the performance just now, I will now play for you a piece of music on that electric piano. I hope you enjoy it while you eat your meal."

"I think I know what he's going to play..." said Link, not looking all too impressed.

The Gerudo walked up to the electric piano and adjusted its setting to make the sound of an organ. When properly tuned, he began playing the piano, playing his theme song. You know, the one that plays before you battle Ganon in A Link to the Past and several other games featuring him.

The sinister-sounding music done in organ style echoed throughout the dining area, filling the place with a sense of dread. It was most definitely not a fitting music for this sort of scenario. "Doesn't that guy know how to see moods...?" grumbled Lily, and his companions agreed.

"I knew it..." said Link, looking frustrated.

"I wouldn't say this theme is bad... It's just that... there are better times to play this..." said Zelda.

Suddenly, Waluigi said out loud, "Boo! You suck! You're ruining our dinner!"

Ganondorf stopped playing to look at the tall man in purple, and everyone else turned to look at Waluigi as well. As Ganondorf had a somewhat angry look on his face, they worried that Waluigi got on the Gerudo's bad side and that something terrible was going to happen sooner or later to him. Ganondorf, however, turned back to the electric piano and continued playing. This time, he played the final boss theme of A Link to the Past.

Whereas the previous theme was slow-paced, this one was much faster paced, even intense-sounding. This time, everyone's reaction was different. While still not a fitting music to be played in this scenario, they had to agree that it was actually a good theme. The fact that Ganondorf was pounding the piano keys fast and hard showed that he was dedicated to this.

When the Gerudo was finally done, everyone gave a round of applause. Even Waluigi ended up clapping his hands and admitting that it was better than he thought. Ganondorf stood up and bowed, thanking everyone for listening to the end before returning to his seat.

Ridley looked at Piranha and said to him, "How about you go up there and surprise everyone? They'll never know what's coming!" The plant nodded before hopping over to the front in his flowering pot. Everyone was intrigued to see the potted plant going up front and wondered what he was going to do. Standing up to get everyone's attention, "Let's hear it out for my companion Piranha! Don't look at him like this! He's a pro when it comes to singing!"

"A singing Piranha Plant...?" asked Dr. Mario skeptically.

"Never heard of such a thing..." said Luigi.

Ridley walked up to the front while tinkering with his smartphone. He pulled up the MP4 player and looked for a specific soundtrack. After finding one and playing it, he placed the smartphone onto the floor next to Piranha. Classical music began playing, and then Piranha begin singing in a high-pitched voice, countertenor style.

The fact that Piranha Plant was singing classical music in such a voice made everyone's jaw drop to the ground. All those in the room stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Piranha as he sang with a majestic voice, except for Tae, who snatched a piece of food from an amazed and awed Sakura's plate to put into her mouth.

Ridley, knowing how well the plant sings, had a proud smile on his face. Samus knew this well too, but due to lacking a proper face, one couldn't tell just by looking at her.

Piranha eventually finished singing. Everyone in the room was silent for a few seconds, but then they all clapped his or her hands wildly, more so than the previous performances.

"AWESOME!"

"INCREDIBLE!"

"ENCORE!"

"I'VE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!"

"THAT WAS WAY TOO GOOD!"

Ridley walked up next to Piranha and patted his head while picking up the smartphone. "I'm glad you all like what you heard!" he said to everyone. "He has always been a fan of music since he was a sapling, and you won't believe how he managed to reach this level! He'll gladly perform for you again next time! Hope you all loved it!" The two returned to their table, while everyone continued to clap his or her hands.

"Wow... I'm at a lost of words..." said Peach while looking at Piranha, who was being fed by Ridley.

"Me too!" said Mario.

"I think I've really seen everything..." said Luigi.

Wario and Waluigi then walked up to the front, and the former said to everyone, "All right! Now it's time for the both of us to show you what we've got! We came here to perform at the Golden Stag Festival as well, and before that day comes, we're going to show you what we are capable of!"

Punching the air and striking a pose, Waluigi said, "Get ready to have your ears blown off by our awesome singing! We may not have our instruments with us now, but that won't stop us from performing for you!"

Wario took out his smartphone, "Actually, we do have the music for the song we're going to sing." He searched through the MP4 folder until he found it. "Aha! Found it!" He began playing the music, and jazz music begin to play.

Wario and Waluigi then began singing.

 _Who's the guy next door living in the awesome mansion?  
You'd better learn my name, 'cause I am-  
WA-RIO/WA-LUIGI!  
He makes the most money and he screws the meanest baddies_  
 _You might be the enemy I seek!_

While the music itself wasn't bad, the duo's singing was downright terrible. They clearly didn't practice at all, and their lyrics weren't entirely the same either. Wario would sing out his name, while Waluigi sang out his instead. Their horrible singing made everyone want to close his or her ears.

"The f*** is this s***?!" cried Dark Pit with his hands over his ears.

"Someone please make me deaf..." cried Pit, also doing the same thing.

Even as the idols were trying their best to endure the awful singing, Tae still managed to snitch some of Sakura's food for herself.

Villager, no longer able to tolerate the cacophony, took out a slingshot loaded with a red ball. "Good thing I brought this along from Smashville!" he told himself. Murabito saw what he was doing and was horrified, only for said expression to become a creepy smile immediately afterwards. Taking aim at Wario's wide open mouth, Villager shot the red ball right into it.

Wario thought something entered his mouth and thus closed it right away. He then felt the temperature inside his mouth increasing, and sweat began coming out from his head nonstop. Waluigi had yet to notice this and kept on singing, but everyone else was now curious about what was happening to Wario.

Villager and Murabito were snickering, and the former quietly said, "Ghost chili pepper sauce! That always does the trick!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Wario screamed at the top of his voice all of a sudden with a bright red face. The intense burning sensation of the chili sauce was more than unbearable for him, so much that he felt like fire was literally burning inside him. "WATER! WATER!"

As he screamed, he kept on hopping up and down in place nonstop at fast pace, all the while looking around for something to cool off his tongue. His state of mind became so unclear that he soon began running around aimlessly. There so happened to be candles placed on stands burning at the sides of the room for decoration purposes. In his panic, he crashed into one of them, and the fire got onto his shirt. The fire spread across his shirt as he continued to run around, eventually throwing himself onto Link and company's table, setting its table cloth on fire. "FIRE!" screamed Zelda as she backed away with the others from the burning table.

Wario continued to run around with his shirt now entirely on fire, and such an action only made the burning spread even further. By now, everyone was standing and freaking out.

The smoke reached the the air, triggering the smoke detector, and as a result, the sprinklers built into the ceiling activated, spraying water all over the place and gradually putting out the fire. Wario opened his mouth wide and tilted up his head to consume as much water as he could to cool off his tongue.

As Franchouchou watched in shock at the madness going on, Sakura noticed something going on with her hand. Gray lines were starting to appear on her skin, and that was when it dawned her. Slowly turning to her companions with a panicked look on her face, she saw that they all had equally shocked expressions. Even Tae, who was mindless and behaved more like an animal than a person, was shocked.

The water sprinkling down was slowly washing away their makeups, thus exposing their gray, decayed skin underneath.

They told each other only one thing. "Run."

And that was what they did. The seven zombies snatched some napkins off their tables and rushed out of the dining area as fast as they could before more of their makeups got washed off, and nobody seemed to notice them due to being too focused on the fire.

The zombies covered their faces as much as they could with the napkins while making their way through the hotel to get back to their rooms before anyone saw their true forms. Not bothering with the elevator for obvious reasons, they rushed up the stairs and ran down hallways. Arriving in front of their rooms, they reached for their keys with great panic and unlocked the doors, wasting no time in throwing themselves inside the moment they were opened.

The seven of them were separated into two rooms, both next to each other. Saki, Junko, and Ai shared one room, while Sakura, Lily, Yuugiri, and Tae shared another.

Falling on her knees, Sakura said in between deep breaths, "No... Nobody saw us... right...?"

"I don't want to... think about it..." said Yuugiri, who was also panting heavily. She looked at the mirror and saw that quite a bit of makeup had indeed been washed off to expose her decayed skin underneath.

Lily was so terrified by what happened just now that his heart, which he kept stuffed inside his body when in his human disguise, had popped back out and was beating nonstop, something which shouldn't be possible now that he was no longer considered alive.

* * *

While all this was happening, Kotaro was in the spa, reclining in a pool of soothing water and letting all his worries get washed away while still keeping his shades on. This was the first thing he did after returning from touring the town with the zombies, and he had been here all this time, completely unaware of what was going on at the dining area.

"Ahhhh...! This is life!" he told himself.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

As you can see, Ridley's world is basically the bad ending of the story True Fans, though honestly, things wouldn't out as bad in this world due to the presence of the World Government and the Great Powers of Tooneria, which in case you forgot consists of the Seven Warlords, the Espers of Justice, and the Five Abominations.

And what do you think of the portrayal I gave Ridley? I think the pictures he showed on his smartphone may give an insight on the kind of person he is. I had fun with that part!

Muse is from the anime series Love Live.

And yes, that's Julius Belmont from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and a couple of other games. He's the latest in line of the Belmont Clan and the only one to live in the modern era, so it's only fitting that I put him in this story.

Apparently, such a scamming method does indeed exist in Romania. In case you ever go there, let's hope you don't fall for that!

I've only posted a portion of Mezame Returner's lyrics here. You can easily find it on Youtube, and you really should give that song a try. It's really good!

I got the idea for Piranha Plant singing from the Japanese commercial for Super Mario RPG, which features three Piranha Plants singing about the game in high-pitched voices.

If you thought Wario and Waluigi's song's lyrics look familiar, then you're right. It is Ashley's song, but with the lyrics changed to suit those two. Since I mentioned jazz music playing, it's the Smash Bros. Brawl version that was being played.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Most of you are probably going to comment about Ridley's story, and while I'm perfectly fine with that, I would also love to know what you think about the other sections. I had the most fun typing the dining area part! Please let me know what you think! I also had fun with the LINE conversation part and plan to do more in the future!


	4. History Lesson

After this chapter, I'll continue to update Justice of Two Worlds again. This doesn't mean this one will be put on hiatus. I will continue to update this one as well, but because I'll be working on both at the same time, updates likely won't be as fast. Remember that I have daily life issues to deal with as well.

And please don't let any form of scamming or bad news in Romania turn you away from that country. I heard it's still a great and popular tourist attraction spot. What country doesn't have bad things, anyway? That doesn't automatically make it a bad place, though.

Since I won't be making any stories about Ridley's world, at least any time in the near future, I won't think too much about what other series exist in that world or whether or not everything that happened in the current Tooneria did happen over there as well. You probably shouldn't think too much about it as well and just enjoy this story.

 **Chapter 4  
History Lesson**

* * *

The tour bus came to a stop in front of a winding path that led upwards, heading in the direction of a castle situated in an elevated area. There were quite a few people walking up and down the path, some heading for the castle and some leaving it. The Smashers got down from the bus and gathered in front of the pathway leading up there, talking among themselves about their current location.

Toor stepped down from the bus after all of them and spoke through his megaphone, "We have arrived here at Bran's Castle, also known as Dracula's Castle! You know? The world's most famous vampire? Yeah, it is widely believed that he used to live in this castle. However, there was no actual proof that he actually lived in this castle. Historians believe that he lived in a different one, and the whereabouts of that one is still unknown to this day. Despite this, the government of Romania decided to bill this castle as Dracula's in order to attract tourists. And I'm very sure that you folks aren't listening to me at all as I said all this. There you are, heading up the path leading to the castle without waiting for my instructions, like always..."

Indeed, the Smashers went on ahead without waiting for him. It was doubtful that they heard what he said earlier, which didn't matter because they were actually talking among themselves the same topic. "But for the sake of attracting tourists," Palutena told the Smashers, "the Romanian government decided to call this place Dracula's castle."

"So it's more or less a scam?" asked Yoshi.

"On paper, that's what it sounds like, but nevertheless, they have lots of things related to the history of Transylvania in there, so it's all worth it in the end!" said Palutena. "Since the actual castle Dracula lives in is unknown, this is the next best thing."

"Did Count Dracula really existed?" Pit asked Palutena.

"Some believe he did, but some believe he is simply a myth," said Palutena. "However, there is at least one family clan who are believed to have a long history with Dracula, and they may be the best proof that the vampire did indeed existed."

"Which family clan?" asked Peach curiously.

"The Belmont Clan," replied Palutena.

As the Smashers were walking towards the castle, the citizens of Smashville could be seen arriving in their tour bus behind them, and the animal folks soon walked up the same pathway, heading towards the castle as well.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, the Smashers finally arrived at the castle itself. Looking around, they saw several tourists hanging around, either chatting or taking pictures. "Please feel free to have fun in this place, but please be sure not to touch anything, as they are all valuable and can make a mess out of this place if mishandled," Toor said to them. "We will gather back here in about an hour."

The Smashers then split into groups of their own to travel to different parts of the castle.

Mario and his group, which consisted of Luigi, Peach, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Lucario, and Greninja, walked together through the castle interior. The place was decorated with pieces of furniture, all dating back to various centuries ago but still looking like new due to being cleaned and polished from time to time. "Wow! It's as if we came back in time! Everything is still so new!" said Peach. "I wonder what it's like to live in the ancient days."

"Must be tough without proper equipment, especially electronic ones," said Dr. Mario.

"Yet they managed to pull through, otherwise da modern day would neva exist!" said Mario.

Yoshi saw a dining table that had some dishware and silverware on it. He also noticed a basket containing fruits. Licking his lips, he walked over to the table and slowly reached his hands towards a green apple while looking left and right to make sure that nobody was catching him in the act.

He snatched away the apple as fast as he could and looked around again to make sure nobody was looking at him, and then he tossed the apple into his mouth. Lucario suddenly showed up next to him, and the dinosaur was so shocked by this that he hurriedly swallowed the whole thing without chewing first. Fortunately, his throat was designed to swallow large things, so he didn't choke on the apple.

"Those plastic fruits look very realistic, don't you agree, father?" Lucario asked Yoshi while looking at the basket of fruits. The latter's eyes widened in shock upon hearing what the Pokemon said, but it was too late to regret.

* * *

In a room not too far away, Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf were together. This particular room had knight armors decorating the sides of the walls, and various kinds of medieval weapons were hanging on the walls. "Are those real?" wondered Zelda.

"Definitely the real thing," said Ganondorf. "To the untrained eyes, it may be hard to tell, but for someone like me and Link, we can easily see the sharpness on them."

"Yeah, and they're definitely sharp enough to take lives," said Link. "All the more reason we shouldn't be touching anything here."

In the same room as them were a couple of Smashville citizens, among them being Villager and Murabito. Those two children, especially the former, were looking at those weapons with sparkling eyes, as if they had great interest in them. "I wonder if we can ask whoever is in charge of this place for permission to try out the sharpness of those weapons," said Villager with a creepy smile on his face.

"What use is a weapon if we don't use it after all?" said Murabito with an equally creepy smile.

Turning to them, Link said, "What's wrong with the both of your heads...?"

"I'm thinking of the same thing," said Ganondorf with a smirk of sorts on his face. "Indeed, what use are weapons if you don't use them. I really do wonder if the owner of this place is willing to let us have a try on these weapons."

"Not you too..." Zelda said to him with an unimpressed look.

Everyone then left, but Villager and Murabito stayed behind to continue looking at the weapons. Looking around to see if the coast was clear, the boy approached a battle axe on the wall and tried to remove it from the wall. He managed to remove it with ease, but found that the weapon was much taller than him and also quite heavy. He struggled to keep his balance while gripping the axe tightly, and Murabito watched with a nervous face.

As he continued to maintain balance, Villager ended up getting close to the window. The axe leaned out the window, and that was when he finally lost his grip on the weapon, and it fell out. "Oh no!" he gasped while looking out and down the window.

Down there, Palutena, Pit and Dark were walking out in the courtyard when the axe suddenly fell onto the goddess, the blade cleaving right into the back of her head. She cried in pain as she fell forward, and the sight of an axe getting lodged into her head horrified the onlookers, including Pit, though Dark Pit didn't seem shocked.

Palutena stood back up, groaning in pain and still with the axe lodged into her head. Pit asked her if she was all right as she reached for the handle and, with a yank, pulled the axe out effortlessly. Strangely enough, there was no blood on the blade at all, and onlookers were confused and amazed that she was still alive and even standing. "I'm all right," Palutena told Pit, and then she looked at the axe and also where it fell from. "Who dropped this? It's very dangerous..."

When she looked away, Villager and Murabito peeked up from behind the window and were relieved to see that the green-haired goddess was seemingly all right. After sighing, Villager said, "That was oddly fun, though..."

* * *

The citizens of Smashville entered a relatively large room with Toor, who told them, "Here's one of the more interesting parts of this place! Welcome to the art gallery showcasing the history of the Belmont Clan!" Behind them, Franchouchou could be seen entering the room as well, though their producer wasn't present. He went on a tour by himself.

"You mean the clan that allegedly has a history with Dracula?" asked Isabelle.

"Indeed!" said Toor with a nod before pointing his hand at the walls, which were decorated with multiple portraits showing various men, all of them looking muscular and manly and armed with whips.

Everyone present was in awe at the sight of those portraits. It was as if they were looking at the most valuable things in the world. "Are those all members of the Belmont Clan?" asked Junko.

"Indeed, but only the ones who had made their name throughout history," said a voice. Everyone turned around to see a finely-dressed and bespectacled gentleman of about 50 or 60 years old entering the room. He has somewhat long gray hair reaching his shoulders and a beard.

"Ah! Mister Berthold!" said Toor in surprise. "What a surprise to see you here!" He then told the tourists. "Everyone, this is the curator of the castle, Wallace Berthold!"

Everyone looked at the curator and greeted him, but he told them that they didn't have to be so courteous. "As long as you're enjoying your time here, that is all that matters to me!" Wallace told them with a jolly-looking face. He then asked Toor for permission to give the tourists a guide of this place, to which the latter agreed.

As the curator began his introduction to the portraits, more tourists came pouring into the room to see what was going on. "As this tour guide said earlier, these are portraits of the most famous members of the Belmont Clan," Wallace told everyone. "What makes them famous is the fact that they have all battled Dracula in the past and prevailed."

"Does that mean Count Dracula really does exist?" Pit asked him.

Looking at him for a second, Wallace nodded. "In the very least, I believe he exists. The Belmont Clan is proof that he does exists. While there are some people who think that the stories of the Belmont Clan are purely fictional or heavily exaggerated, I do not believe they would be talked about so much in this country even to this day if their actions were all false. Count Dracula and all the tales of his battles with the Belmont Clan are indeed true history!"

Remembering her encounter with Julius yesterday, Saki raised her hand to grab the curator's attention and asked him, "Hey mister, I'm curious... Are there still anyone in that clan alive today?"

Wallace nodded. "Indeed, you can still find at least one of them alive today, and I'm sure he's willing to prove to you that everything I said is true. If I remember correctly, his name is Julius Belmont, and he lives here in Transylvania."

"Cool! Would be nice if we can meet him!" commented Peach.

"If you're lucky, you may run into him while out there while touring!" Wallace told her.

Saki said to her companions with an excited face, "What do you know? We ran into a living legend yesterday! And he even helped us! Can you believe it?"

"Great for you, Saki!" said Sakura, feeling glad for her.

Pointing at the farthest left picture, Wallace said, "That one over there is the earliest known member of the Belmont Clan, Leon Belmont." The portrait showed a fine-looking man with red hair wearing a robe-like clothing consisting of black, white, and red. The history between Dracula and the Belmont Clan started with him, and he also created the Vampire Killer, the most powerful vampire-slaying weapon of all time!"

"Is it correct to assume that the Julius guy still has it with him? I mean the whip," asked Villager.

"I believe he still has it with him," Wallace told him.

"Cool! I wonder if I can see it and ask for permission to whip someone or something with it!" said Villager with glee, which earned him a couple of freaked out stares from those nearby.

Wallace continued to talk about the rest of the portraits. The next person after Leon was Trevor, the first person to actually battle and kill Dracula. Around that time, the Belmont Clan had ill reputations and was shunned by most people, but when Trevor killed Dracula and saved Transylvania, the Clan's reputation was restored.

The next person after him was Christopher. Wallace said that of all the members who battled Dracula, Christopher was the least well-known. Other than having battled Dracula twice and saving his son from the vampire once, nothing else was known about him.

The next person was Simon, who was said to the most well-known and perhaps the most powerful of all the members in the clan. Other than battling Dracula twice, he also fought several other powerful monsters and won all by himself. He was described as a one-man army who couldn't be stopped, no matter his condition.

"By the way, it is believed that this portrait does not accurately depict his appearance," added Wallace. The picture showed Simon as a handsome man with red wearing black leather clothing. "His description in old writings stated that he is actually blonde and also a lot more muscular than this. How this ended up being his portrayal is still a mystery to me..."

"Gee, I sure hope Mr. Game & Watch's portrait of himself don't end up being his depiction for the future generation..." said Luigi. During the events of Rise of the Negativities, G&W once commissioned a portrait of himself, and the artist depicted him as a muscular and realistic-looking black man, complete with facial features, and it still hanging in his room to this day.

"Wow... I'm surprised Game2002 brought up that old reference!" commented Yoshi, looking at the paragraph above himself and therefore breaking the fourth wall.

After that was Juste, who had an interesting tale in that his friend Maxim suffered from split personality, which in turn influenced Dracula's castle, causing it split into two dimensions, each dimension reflecting the different sides of his personality.

And finally, there was Richter Belmont, who was said to the strongest vampire hunter since Simon, and also started at a young age of only 19 years old. Despite his age, he proved to be powerful fighter who was seemingly unstoppable and was able to overcome all odds.

After finishing talking about all the Belmont Clan, Wallace said, "Some of you might have heard the news from yesterday regarding the bodies of Simon and Richter being dug up from their graves, probably due to theft."

"What?! Really?!" asked Pit in shocked.

"Didn't you see the news? Get with the times!" Dark Pit said to him rudely.

"It's such a shocking thing that something like this happened," said Wallace in a tone that showed disapproval for what happened. "Even in death, each of the clan members are still sacred and should not be disturbed from their graves. I do not know who did this, but I do hope that if he has any concern for history and also the feelings of the current Belmont Clan, he will return the stolen bodies at once. Let us hope that this case can be resolved soon."

"Hmmm... I wonder why someone would stole the bodies of those who died centuries ago? Their bodies be reduced to skeleton by now or at least became mummies," wondered Dr. Mario.

"Maybe someone has a fetish of collecting dead bodies?" said Ganondorf, which freaked out Luigi, Peach, and Zelda quite a bit.

"I know! He's going to bring them back to life..." said Yoshi. The moment he said this, the eyes of each of the members of Franchouchou widened as they turned to look at him. "...cyborgs!" Their looks became unimpressed upon hearing this, except for Lily, who actually thought it was cool.

"I'm not an expert in this field, so I don't know if that'll work..." said Dr. Mario. "Assuming it does work, that would make them the ugliest cyborgs ever..."

"Cyborg zombies... Sounds like an interesting concept," said Dark Pit with interest as he tried to conjure an image the a decayed corpse with cybernetic parts attached to it.

"There is one more thing I would like to show you, and perhaps it's the main attraction of this place," said Wallace as told everyone to follow him to a different place.

As they were following him, Lily said, "I just realized... Yuugiri sis was dead for over a hundred years... How did Kotaru manage to bring her back in a... good-looking condition?"

The other zombies looked at Yuugiri and had to agree that for someone who died more than a hundred years ago, she looks pretty fresh and new, as if she only died recently. "I do wonder that myself too," said the courtesan as she placed her hand against her face, pondering about this.

Wallace eventually led them to a large living room filled with luxurious pieces of furniture. He pointed to a large portrait hanging on the wall at the back end of the room. "This, my friends," he said to the tourists, "is a portrait of Count Dracula himself!"

The portrait depicted the upper bust of a pale-skinned man with white, wavy hair and a goatee. His expression looks angry and even intimidating. Just by looking at his eyes, some of the tourists had a feeling of uneasiness, as if they were looking at an actual person, one who was in a bad mood and might strike them any moment.

"So that's Count Dracula..." commented Zelda.

"Pretty regal-looking, don't you think?" said Palutena.

Wallace then went on to explain the history of Dracula, about how he was originally human, only to sell his soul to evil forces and thus turning himself into a vampire. He talked about some of his feats, which impressed all those who heard it. From the sound of it, Dracula was a powerful and extremely dangerous fighter who could easily wipe out an city all by himself. What surprised them most was the fact that he would come back to life every once in a while, either by himself or through the help of his subordinates.

"Does... Does that mean we will get to see him walking among us around these days?" asked Luigi, shuddering at the thought of it.

"I dare say it's possible, but when he will be resurrected it not known," Wallace told him a nod. "But fear not, that is why the Belmont Clan exists! As I said, Julius Belmont is still living among us, and he was born into this world for this very purpose! If Dracula does come back to life in modern day, then Julius will be there to deal with him!"

"And with all the crazy powerful people nowadays, I doubt Dracula will be a problem," said Ganondorf.

"Yeah, I can't really imagine him being that big of a threat if he showed up today," said Link.

* * *

Julius was spending his time at a cafe. Sitting at a table underneath a parasol located just outside the cafe, he quietly read a newspaper while having coffee. It was then a person approached him and called out his name. Lowering his newspaper, he saw that it was a young man with relatively pale skin and long, blonde hair, and his clothing is black and medieval-looking. "Had a feeling you would show up sooner or later, Alucard," Julius said to him.

The man he referred to as Alucard sat at the table as well. "You know why I'm here, Julius," he said to the vampire hunter.

"It's about your father, right?" Julius asked him, to which the latter nodded in response. "Any news on him?"

"I wish to say yes, but I have to admit... While I am sure that Dracula has resurrected, he has yet to make himself known," Alucard to him. "He's getting smarter every time... It seems doubtful he will make himself known until his strength has truly returned."

"Or perhaps he's waiting for me to lose my touch," said Julius, and then he sighed. "I'm close to fifty now, and I have yet to put my skills as a Belmont to use... My ancestors all battled him in their 20s. I just hope by the time he finally shows up, I haven't lost my touch yet."

"Have you not defended civilians from various monsters that occasionally plague this place?" Alucard asked him.

"They were easy targets," replied Julius, not sounding content with his battle histories. "As long as you know a thing or two about fighting, you can easily deal with them. An expert like me can't find content and improvement in simply fighting these weak monsters... I may even end up deteriorating as a result..."

"It cannot be helped if Dracula will not show his face," said Alucard. "However, while his return may have happened already, Castlevania's seal will not be broken until much longer."

"The Morris family made sure to keep it sealed away properly, right?" asked Julius. "At least we can be sure if Dracula appears, he won't have an army of powerful monsters from that place."

"Even so, he is a smart man. I am sure he has a way around it," said Alucard.

"Whatever the case is, I hope he won't end up launching an attack during the Golden Stag Festival," said Julius. "The last thing the folks here want is for that contest to be cancelled for any reason."

"The well-being of the people is important, so I am sure they will understand if it must be cancelled. But even so, I wish that an event they take pleasure in will be able to continue without hindrance. There is also the issue regarding the stolen bodies of two of your ancestors. I cannot help but feel that Dracula has something to do with this."

"Your thought is as good as mines," said Julius with a nod. "If he did indeed stole their bodies, then the only reason I can think of is to..."

"Resurrect them as revenants to use as his army," said Alucard, narrowing his eyes as he finished his quote for him.

"If that is true, then things may get even harder..." said Julius, not sounding happy. "Simon and Richter... They're said to be the two strongest Belmont in history..."

* * *

After the tour at Bran's Castle was finished, the Smashers headed to a Saxon village next. It so happened that both Franchouchou and the Smashville tourists were heading there. This wasn't planned but entirely a coincidence, something that could probably only happen in works of fiction.

An ancient village may not sound like much, but it was still a charming and peaceful place that attracted tourists.

Arriving at the place, the tourists were greeted with the beautiful sight of a seemingly endless span of pasture. Houses made of wood and straw were dotted all over the place, not to mention farm animals.

This particular part of the village was reserved for tourism, so there were no people living in any of the houses. Even so, local residents could still be seen wandering around, doing daily businesses or interacting with the tourists.

There didn't seem like much to do, yet the tourists were still able to have fun with whatever things they could get their hands on. Some went into the wooden and straw houses to take pictures, some picked flowers from nearby flower patches, some were being taught by the locals how to perform tasks such as daily farm works and weaving baskets, and some interacted with the farm animals.

Speaking of farm animals, Tae was running on all fours, chasing a group of fleeing ducks with the intention of sinking her teeth into them. Sakura was running after her, trying to catch up with her and telling her to leave those poor ducks alone.

Luigi was leaning over a well to see if there was anything in there. Yoshi, Lucario, and Greninja were standing next to him. The ducks rushed past him from behind, shortly followed by Tae, who bumped into him and sending him plummeting to the bottom of the well, screaming his head off as he did so. Sakura looked down the well in shock and apologized in great panic over and over. Greninja then jumped down the well to help the poor guy back up.

As the tourists continued to enjoy the peaceful countryside attraction, they were suddenly spooked the sound of loud engine. Looking up, they saw three motorcycles driven by anthropomorphic wolves dressed as stereotypical bikers traveling down a nearby road. They drove onto the grass and parked their bikes next to a tree to stop there and relieve themselves.

Zelda and Peach saw this from where they were, and they had looks of disapproval on their faces. "That's not nice! You can't treat whatever place you want as a toilet!" said the latter, to which the latter nodded in response.

After those biker wolves were done with their business, they were going to leave when they suddenly noticed Isabelle standing not too far away, looking at them rather innocently. Smiles appeared on the wolves' face as they began approaching her, seemingly with not-so-good intentions. Peach and Zelda were worried for the dog as those three approached her, and their worries were confirmed when they began to hit on Isabelle, asking her questions like if she was alone and if she had free time.

"We should help her!" suggested Zelda, and Peach agreed with a nod.

"Oh wait! Just watch!" said Murabito as she showed up next to them suddenly with Villager, both of them having enthusiastic smiles on their faces. "The real fun will soon begin!"

"What do you mean? We should help that dog! Isn't she with your tour?" Zelda asked the pink-haired girl.

"Trust me; you'll be surprised by what you see if you wait and do nothing!" Villager assured Zelda, and Murabito reconfirmed it.

Isabelle appeared to be having a cheerful conversation with those wolves, who had perverted looks on their faces. She then told them to follow her behind a wooden house, which those three happily did so. The four disappeared behind said house, and Peach and Zelda continued to watch with a worried looks, but Villager and Murabito kept her reassuring them that it was going to be all right and that something neat was going to happen soon.

Suddenly, the sound of people getting beaten up could be heard coming from behind that house. The two princesses were surprised by this, while the two kids looked on excitedly.

A few seconds later, Isabelle stepped back out from behind the house, dusting her hands and sporting an angry look on her face. The princesses were confused about what happened, while the two kids were laughing likely crazy. "What... What happened?!" asked Peach.

"Just go over there and see!" Murabito told her. The four went behind the house, and the two princesses were surprised to see those three wolves sprawled out on the ground with injuries all over their bodies. There was a thick, broken stick lying nearby, and judging by the way it broke in two, it was likely because it was used a bludgeoning tool way too hard.

"Did... Did she beat them up by herself?!" asked Zelda, having a hard time believing what she saw.

"You better believe that Isabelle packs a punch when you get on her bad side!" Murabito told her in between laughter, while Villager laughed hysterically as he pointed at those knocked out wolves.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Simon's depiction in the portrait is based off his design from Castlevania Chronicles. Smash Bros. Ultimate uses his old school design from the NES games and Super Castlevania IV. After the introduction of the younger, red-haired design, it has become his standard design for the most part and used in various appearances afterwards, though the old-school one still saw some use from time to time.

Yes, Game & Watch does have an "awesome" portrait of himself commissioned in Rise of the Negativities. I'm even surprised that I managed to dig that up!

And yes, I break the fourth wall from time to time in this series, and it's not something I'm going to stop doing anytime soon.

Well, like I said, I will once again work on Justice on Two Worlds, but I will remember to update this story as well. In fact, I may end up putting more focus on this one. Either way, let's hope I won't have trouble working on two stories at once.


	5. Rock Salt Saga

Ended up churning out another chapter rather than going straight for Justice of Two Earths... I did say I will focus more on this one, though.

 **Chapter 5  
Rock Salt Saga**

* * *

By the time the tourists had finished touring the Saxon village, it was already evening, so they went to have dinner at a restaurant. This was one occasional where they all went different locations. The Smashers headed for one restaurant, the Smasvhille tourists went to another, and Franchouchou went to a different one.

Regardless, once they were all finished with dinner, they returned to their hotel at about the same time.

Immediately after returning, Kotaro told the idols now that they had enough fun for the day, it was time they practice their performance for the Golden Stag Festival. He had already gotten the permission for them to use one of the conference rooms for practice.

That night, the idols spent about an hour practicing. Playing the song they composed with Kotaro's help back in Japan, they listened to it over and over, trying to memorize its lyrics. Once they've gotten the lyrics down, they began practicing their dance moves, making sure to remember when to perform what movements during which part of the song and whose turn it was to sing.

After an intense practice session, the idols were sweating from head to toe as they sat down, panting heavily. "I think that's enough for now..." said Ai in between heavy breathing. "Good job, everyone! There's still a few more days until the performance."

"I think I got pretty much everything down already," said Sakura, looking equally tired. "I mean... we've been practicing this before we even left Saga."

"Practice makes perfect! This is our first time performing overseas, so we've got to make sure to give it all we've got!" Saki told everyone while pumping her fist.

Having finished with practicing, the idols picked up their belongings and made sure to clean up the room a bit before leaving. As they walked down a hallway and through a lobby to return to their rooms, Dr. Mario came walking past them and greeted them. "Busy practicing for the show, am I right?" he asked them.

"We are! We're really looking forward to it!" Sakura cheerfully told him.

"Then I look forward to it! Practicing is good, but make sure not to overwork yourself. Keeping a good health is important!" the doctor told them, and they all thanked him for his concern. "By the way... I've been noticing since yesterday..." He turned his eye towards Tae, who was standing in front of a nearby aquarium, planting her face against the glass and looking like she wanted to eat the fish in there. "Is she all right? No offense, but her behavior doesn't exactly strike one as... mentally healthy... She was even chasing ducks on all fours today at the Saxon village..."

The idols became nervous when he asked this, but Sakura tried to keep her head cool and replied, "Yeah... Tae is always like that... She does have a bit of... mental problems... But don't worry; she's still capable of understanding us! She's actually a good girl if you get to know her!"

"I see... Maybe you should take her to a psychiatrist," suggested Dr. Mario. "I'm not one myself, so I can't give her a proper diagnosis."

"Maybe we will someday...!" said Ai, trying to look calm as well.

"Anyway, you must be tired from all the practicing... Look at you! You're sweating all over! Hurry up and go wash yourself and have a good night's sleep!" Dr. Mario said to them, and then they went separate ways, saying good-bye to each other when they did so.

Junko sniffed herself after what the doctor said about them sweating all over and said, "I sure can use a bath now. Thinking about it, we rarely got to bathe ourselves properly back home."

"Yeah... Go outside and wet yourself with the hose, said Mister Shades..." grumbled Saki. This was indeed the case. Kotaro didn't allow them to use the bathroom for reasons he never stated and had them use the the garden hose outside to clean themselves, though if necessary, he would allow them to bath properly indoors, but that rarely happens.

"Which is why I'm glad we get the rare chance to bathe ourselves properly this time around!" continued Junko, sounding happy.

As the group of seven walked through the lobby, one could see Ridley reclining at one of the sofas there, chatting with Ganondorf, who was seated on a couch directly across him. "Went to Turda Salt Mine today," Ridley told him. "Awesome place! I never went to the one in my world before, so I don't know how similar it is. You should check out that place! One of the best-looking places I've ever seen!"

"As a matter of fact, we're going there tomorrow," Ganondorf told him. "But thanks for the heads up anyway."

"Hope you have fun!" Ridley told him, and then he took out his smartphone. "I took a couple of pictures. Check'em out!" He proceeded to show the Gerudo the pictures he took. The pictures consisted of the different scenery inside the mine, which has been renovated to become an amusement park, and photos of himself, Piranha, and his world's version of Samus. He also took quite a few pictures of girls ranging from 10 to 15 years old who were touring there with their families and friends.

"Looks fun indeed," commented Ganondorf with a straight face as he looked through the photos. "I'll be sure to enjoy my fullest there." As Ridley leaned back on the sofa he was on, the Gerudo asked him, "By the way, you can't possibly think about staying here in Transylvania forever, right? At least living in this hotel..."

"That much is obvious," replied Ridley. "I plan to stick around until after the music contest coming up a few days from now, and then I'll take off for other countries and find a suitable place to make my new life."

"How do you have cash anyway? And Romanian ones at that..." Ganondorf asked him.

"I took my entire bank savings along with me, and my spaceship is capable of converting currency into whatever nationality I'm in," replied Ridley. "Pretty advanced technology, I'm telling ya!"

"I can see that," Ganondorf said to him. "You can find a house in Onett or somewhere in Eagleland. Since you're new here, I figured that it would be better if we live closer to each other so we can have an easier time getting you acquainted to this world."

"How kind of you! I'll decide what to do myself, but thanks for the suggestion nevertheless!" Ridley told him.

"There's also one more thing you have to know," Ganondorf told him, and the latter became curious about what it is. "The Ridley of our world was the leader of a group of aliens called Space Pirates. After his defeat, they were disbanded. However, at least three of them are still hanging out on our planet. They're currently working as mercenaries that can be hired through the Dark Web. If I were you, I would be cautious about running into them. Misunderstandings will definitely be abound."

"Thanks for the heads up," Ridley told him. "Honestly saying, dealing with shady and underworld business isn't new to me. I have to admit that as I grew up, I did get tangled with some not-so-honest stuff, but even so, there are still things I would never do, such as taking lives. After I got over the rebellious phase, I turned over a new leaf, but the experiences from my youth are still something that can't be forgotten so easily. I'm sure I can deal with this if I ever run into them."

"You sound confident, huh? I think I might like you!" said Ganondorf with a smirk.

* * *

 **LINE CONVERSATION**

 **Hi I'm Daisy:** Hi, Peachy!

 **Princess Peach:** Good evening, Daisy! How are you?

 **Hi I'm Daisy:** Great! I hope you're feeling equally great as well! I'm going to the Turda Salt Mine tomorrow! Can't wait!

 **Princess Peach:** What coincidence! We're going to there as well tomorrow!

 **Hi I'm Daisy:** Awesome! Let's have fun together! It's gonna be a huge blast! Woohoo!

 **Princess Peach:** Good to see you're excited! See you tomorrow!

 **Samus Aran sent a message**

 **Samus Aran:** What's up, Peach?

 **Princess Peach:** Oh hi, Samus! Everything's fine!

 **Samus Aran:** Heard about a version of Ridley coming from a different universe... Is that true?

 **Princess Peach:** It's true. He seems sincere and nice. How are the others taking this news?

 **Samus Aran:** They don't seem too worried. Probably because they think you folks can deal with him in case he's lying.

 **Princess Peach:** Hope this doesn't bother you...

 **Samus Aran:** The Ridley I know is dead. I've already avenged my family and friends. You can't always hold a grudge. Whoever this new Ridley is, I'm sure he has a different history unrelated to me. That said, I may feel a bit uneasy if I see him, though...

 **Princess Peach:** He's definitely a nice guy. Maybe you two can get along?

 **Samus Aran:** We'll see.

* * *

The third day in Transylvania had arrived. It was just as Peach and Ganondorf said, the Smashers' tour for the day was at the Turda Salt Mine, also called Salina Turda.

This location was once mine for excavating salt, but when operation shut down, the Romanian government decided to turn it into a tourist attraction rather than sealing it away like most mines after they have served their purpose. The entire underground network was renovated to become an amusement park-like tourist attraction and is considered one of the greatest places for tourism nowadays. Millions of people flock to this place each year to have fun in this magnificent place.

Standing with the idols in front of the rental van, Kotaro said to them, "You should be happy that I am a reasonable man who thinks even dead people like you still deserve fun, so long as you remember your main reason for coming here in the first place. Anyway, go on and have fun, but just remember to be back here in about three hours. You don't have to stay here for any longer than that, do you? And if you run into fans, be sure to give them a good impression. The last thing we want..."

"FRANCHOUCHOU!" cried a loud, cheerful voice all of a sudden that spooked them all. They looked and saw Daisy rushing over to them. Stopping right in front of each of the idols, she grabbed and shook their hands hard. "I'm so happy to see you all here! Not only did I get to see my good friend, I also got to see my new favorite idol group! How lucky of me to be able to have a vacation with you folks!"

"We... We're happy for your support!" Sakura said to her, a bit freaked out by her hyperactive attitude.

Hopping up and down excitedly, Daisy cried like a rabid fan girl, "Kyaaaaah! This is the best day of my life! I must take a picture to commemorate this!" She took out her smartphone and took a selfie of herself with the idols, but the picture ended up mostly consisting of her own head due to the range between her and the phone, though she didn't seem to care at all. Turning back to them, she said, "I'll be finding my friend now! Let's run into each other again down in the mine! Have fun, all of you!" She then turned to run off.

"She scares me..." said Junko, looking nervous.

"Lily has to admit that she's the craziest fan Lily has seen in Lily's entire career, even when alive..." said Lily.

"Well, looks like you have already have a big fan here!" Kotaro said to them, feeling proud for them. "Now what are you waiting for? Hurry up and continue satisfying you fans!"

Meanwhile, the Smashers were standing at the entrance of the building leading into the mine, waiting for their approval to go inside. Looking at the tourists arriving, they noticed that incredible coincidence was at play again in the way that they found themselves touring with the Smashville citizens and the aforementioned idol group. As if that wasn't enough, Blue and her family and Wario and Waluigi were present as well.

"Talk about a coincidence... Do they have the same tour plans as us or what?" wondered Luigi.

"Only in works of fiction can you find-a such insane coincidences," said Mario.

"Friendly reminder that we are in a fan fiction," Yoshi told him, once again breaking the fourth wall and the only person so far in this story to do so.

Toor then showed up at the entrance and told them that they could go in now, so they all did as he said.

* * *

After traversing through the interior of the building and reading up histories of this place, the tourists traveled down a long, rocky shaft before finally arriving at a large, spacious area. They were finally inside the salt mine, and it was quite a sight to behold. Large construction machinery left behind during the mining days could be seen decorating the place, and despite being several years old, they still look as good as new.

It wasn't only said machinery that looked spectacular, the natural formation and carvings of the room was also quite a sight to behold. Stalactites and stalagmites decorated the place, and they were for the most part colored white and glittering slightly. This was due to them being covered in salt, hence the reason this was called a salt mine.

"Wow! What a beautiful place!" said Peach in awe. Mario was next to her, taking pictures using a digital camera nonstop and also agreeing with her about the beauty of this place.

"This is wasn't what I had in mind when I think of a mine," said Link, also in equal awe.

Wario looked unimpressed, however. "Tsk! Salt! What's so special about it? How about making a gold mine into a tourist attraction instead? That's a better reason for me to come here!" Waluigi nodded in agreement.

"Geez... Have some appreciation, can't you?" Dr. Mario criticized him, but the duo ignored him before heading in their own direction.

"Leave them. They're not the kind of person who can be impressed so easily if it doesn't concern wealth and fame," Luigi told him. When he turned his head to another location, he saw Yoshi and Greninja licking a salt-covered stalagmite, while Lucario watched them with an unimpressed look. "Um... Guys, I don't think that's very hygienic..."

Not too far away, Franchouchou was strolling around, enjoying the sight they were seeing and being at awe with what they saw. "My! Such a wonder this place is! You don't see something like this back in Japan!" commented Yuugiri.

Lily had sparkling eyes of happiness as he beheld the towering construction machines. Despite preferring cute and girly things, he had a strong interest in heavy machinery. When he was alive and living with his father, the latter would sometimes take him to industrial places with such things to impress him. This was his first time seeing such things after being resurrected as a zombie.

Meanwhile, Sakura was trying to convince Tae not to lick a salt-covered stalagmite. "Tae... Please stop... That's very unhygienic..."

Close by, Villager was looking at the stalactites and asking himself, "Hmmm... I wonder how many people will die if they all fall at the same time? How does one even make them fall in the first place?"

* * *

The rest of the tour went on smoothly. The tourists traveled down long, winding white tunnels and entered from room to room to view the magnificent salt caves as well as the machinery left behind. They even got to ride a towering elevator that took them from a higher place to a lower one.

There was also an underground lake with a bridge going across it, and said lake had inflatable boats for people to row around in. Blue had her Blastoise, named Blasty, out of his Pokeball and swimming around in the lake, while she rode on top of it. Greninja also found enjoyment swimming around in the lake.

Mario and Peach got themselves onto one of the boats and rowed around the lake happily. It was then Wario and Waluigi came bumping into them with their boat intentionally. When Mario told them to cut it out, they made faces at them and kept on bumping into their boat over and over.

As Wario and Waluigi continued to laugh at the duo while continuously bumping into them, they suddenly notice water leaking in from the bottom of the boat. Freaked out, Wario hurriedly rowed back to the dock, while Waluigi used his hat to scoop out the water. Mario and Peach were confused as to why that happened, until Greninja popped out of the water surface partially next them, holding in his hand a kunai made of water, and those two laughed in response.

The nasty duo made it back to the dock, but by then, only their heads were sticking out of the water.

* * *

In another area of the mine was a recreational area. There were snooker tables as well as ping pong tables, and some people were having fun with them.

Saki had a look of joy on her as she approached a snooker table with a billiard stick. "Brings back memories! Played this every once in a while back when I was alive with my biker gang, and I'm a pro at it!" she told her companions, who were standing around the table.

"You are?" Sakura asked her curiously.

Aiming her billiard stick as a white ball and getting to hit it, Saki told her, "You better believe it!" Thrusting the billiard stick at the ball, the latter rolled straight into a black ball, which in turn went ahead and bumped into a couple more colored balls. By the time the balls had stopped moving, a total of three balls had went into the holes. Saki looked proud at her accomplish, and her companions clapped their hands, looking impressed.

"What's that guy doing?" asked a random person. Hearing this, the zombie idols turned to see Dark Pit holding a billiard stick over his shoulder as if it was a javelin, aiming at a white ball on a snooker table. Having calculating his aim properly, the black angel hurled the billiard stick, which hit the ball and caused it to roll all over the place, hitting every single ball on the table. People were amazed when he used this method to make every single ball go into the holes until only the white one was left, and there was a large round of applause.

"Wow! He's good!" commented Junko.

Not looking impressed and even looking jealous, Saki said with an annoyed expression, "I can do that too!" After arranging the balls onto the table properly, she backed away from the latter and held the billiard over her shoulder with the intention of mimicking Dark Pit's trick just now.

"Is that necessary...?" Ai asked her, looking impressed.

"I'm not going to lose so easily!" said the blonde idol. After calculating her arm, Saki threw the billiard like a javelin. However, it struck the table surface just short of the white ball and bounced forward while spinning through the air. Luigi was standing front of a spinning playground toy that some children were currently playing on when the stick struck him in the back of the head, causing him to fall onto the toy and spin along with it. He screamed as he spun in fast circles with it, and because he wasn't actually holding onto it, he was eventually thrown away into the air, crashing somewhere.

A look of shock appeared on Saki's face as she hastily apologized to the plumber in green.

* * *

Daisy and Palutena had somehow come to the agreement of having a ping pong match. Both women stared at each other as if they were enemies and also proud smirks on their faces, confident in their own abilities. Pit was cheering for Palutena, while a bunch of blue Toads consisting of Daisy's escorts cheered for their princess.

"Are you ready to be overwhelmed by my unbeatable skill?" Daisy said to Palutena.

"I'm afraid I'm a bit too advanced for you," Palutena said to her in return.

Pit constantly cheered for the goddess. "You can do it, Lady Palutena!"

The two stared in silence for a few seconds, and then Daisy served the ball. Immediately, Palutena swatted it back to her with her paddle, to which Daisy easily swatted it back to her. Both sides kept on hitting the ball back and forth, and neither side seems to be at a disadvantage.

As they dueled, one of the blue Toads whispered to his fellow escort, "The princess is using her observation haki, right?"

"How else do you think she's not missing the ball at all?" replied the latter.

The ping pong duel between the two women kept on going, neither side missing at all. It was an intense duel, so much that they grabbed the attention of everyone around them. Everyone flocked close to them, amazed by their playing skills.

"Wow! They're good!"

"Incredible!"

"I have never seen such skills!"

"This is inhuman!"

Peach was equally amazed. "Wow! I didn't know Daisy is this good!"

"Eetz like she knows where da ball is going to fly to next!" pointed out an equally awed Mario.

Link and Ganondorf had their arms crossed as they watched the match, and the former asked the latter, "Definitely haki at work, right?" The latter nodded in response.

As the match went on, Daisy started to show signs of fatigue, yet Palutena looked as energetic as when she started. "Man! She's good!" commented the princess with a nervous look. She was starting to fear that she might lose against her.

With a smile on her face, Palutena asked her, "Are you enjoying it? I can do this all day!"

"Don't underestimate me!" shouted Daisy, sounding frustrated. She pulled back her paddle and then delivered her most powerful blow. The ball shot across the air at a speed faster than before, much to Palutena's surprise. Despite this, the goddess was able to catch the ball in time, striking it with a powerful force back to Daisy.

Daisy desperately reached for the ball, but unfortunately, it bounced off the edge of the table and then onto the floor before she could reach it. After a long duel, someone finally scored. People roared in applause and praised their match nonstop, calling the most intense match they have ever seen.

Daisy got up, and despite the loss, she maintained a happy look on her face as she shook hands with Palutena. "Okay, I'll admit you're good! Great game!"

"You're a great player yourself too!" Palutena told her with a smile. "You're definitely a pro at it!"

The two continued to shake hands while smiling at each other. All of a sudden, their expressions became serious. At the same time, Ganondorf and Link's expression became serious as well. Lucario was another one whose expression became serious. All those aforementioned people immediately turned to look in a certain direction, their actions confusing everyone.

"What's wrong, Lucario?" Yoshi asked him.

"There's a new presence..." replied Lucario in a serious tone, and his answer only confused the dinosaur even more.

Reaching for his sword, which he had been carrying all this time, Link got into a fighting stance, and him taking out a bladed weapon surprised everyone. Ganondorf also got into a defensive stance. Confused and even scared, Zelda asked them, "What... What are you doing?"

"Something's approaching, one that originally wasn't here and also feeling different from everything else we've felt so far using our observation haki..." replied Link.

"Not sure if it's friend or foe, but it's never wrong to be prepared," said Ganondorf.

What those two said made everyone nervous. As the haki users were all looking at a certain wall, everyone turned to look at the same place, and some even moved away from said wall.

Suddenly, the rocky wall began to bulge out as if it was made of clay, slowly shaping itself into form of a hand. Such an occurrence surprised everyone.

"What... What is that?!" asked Sakura in shock. The other idols were equally shocked, except for Tae, who was on all fours and growling like a dog.

Like a mass of clay separating itself from a larger mass, a massive being made of stone came out of the wall. Sporting the same whitish color as the rocky wall, it was a large humanoid being with a sinister face consisting of glowing, green eyes and a mouth curved into an unfriendly frown.

"Mamamia! A monster!" screamed Luigi in shock.

"A golem?!" asked Pit in shock.

Almost everyone present was in shock at the sudden appearance of this monster made of rock close to ten meters tall. Never had they heard about something like this happening in this place, and some people thought it might be some kind of new attraction here. The golem stared at the people before him, all of whom were small in size compared to him. He then slowly pulled back his fist.

Sensing impending danger, Daisy shouted to everyone, "Watch out! He's going to launch his fist!" Almost as soon as she finished her line, the golem thrust his arm forward, and in doing so caused his fist to detached itself from the rest of the body and shoot towards the crowd.

The fist would've hit and crushed multiple people underneath its hardness and weight had not Ganondorf intervened almost as soon as the fist was launched. Slamming forth his own fist, Ganondorf was able to stop the fist from moving completely, a feat that surprised several people. Cracks appeared on the stone fist before it returned to the golem, connecting itself to the arm. Ganondorf also noticed the cracks disappearing at a fast speed.

By now, more or less everyone else was shocked and also sure that this was in no way any form of attraction in this place. Turning to the frightened crowd, Palutena shouted, "Everyone! Leave this place at once! It won't be safe here!"

Even if she didn't say that, the crowd was going to do it. What happened just now was more than enough to send them fleeing in terror. Screaming in fright, the crowd rushed out of the place as fast as they could, constantly pushing into each other as they did so, and some even tripped and got trampled on.

Franchouchou found themselves being squeezed within the crowd and also pushed around, to the point where they were in danger of being separated from each other.

Sakura cried both in pain and for her companions while being pushed around. She suddenly felt someone hitting her in the head, and the next thing she knew, her vision was that of flying through the air and then hitting the floor. A look of horror appeared on her face as she realized that someone had accidentally knocked her head off her body. "Oh no! I mustn't let anyone see me like this, or else our group is finished!" she said in shock in her head.

She looked towards the rushing crowd and caught the glimpse of her body within the crowd, but it was having a hard time trying to make its way out and towards the head, which only made her more scared.

Junko suddenly came rushing out of the crowd, holding Sakura's body by the arm and heading for the head. "Sakura!" the white-haired zombie idol called out to her. Acting quick, she picked up Sakura's head and attached it firmly back onto the head and even twisted it a few times to make sure it was screwed on tightly.

Sighing in relief, Sakura thanked her. "Thanks, Junko... I hope nobody saw what happened just now..."

"Let's get out of here fast! It's no longer safe here!" Junko told her. Looking at the exit to this place, they saw that the crowd had rushed through it entirely, so it was now easier for them to escape.

The golem launched his fist again, this time striking the area above the exit. In doing so resulted in a cave in, preventing anyone from leaving the room. Looks of horror appeared on Sakura and Junko's faces as they realized that they were trapped in the room.

Looking back, they saw that the only ones present in the room along with them were Mario, Ganondorf, Link, Palutena, Pit, Dark Pit, Wario, Lucario, and Greninja, all of whom were in fighting stances.

Ganondorf looked at the blocked doorway and then turned back to the golem, saying, "Well, that was a dumb move, as in... you've just signed your death warrant by sealing off your own exit!"

"Let's make a short work out of this thing," suggested Link. "You don't want it to make a mess out of this place, don't you?"

"The only mess there's going to be are broken pieces of his body once I'm done with him!" said Wario as he cracked his fists while sporting an "evil" and enthusiastic smile on his face.

As the Smashers readied to fight the golem, Sakura and Junko hugged each other at the back of the room, trembling in fear while in tears. "What... What do we do...?" they cried.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

As you can see, things are starting to become serious. This is when the plot will begin to progress in a more meaningful way, so I hope you look forward to when Dracula finally makes his appearance!

And yes, I've decided to make Daisy a more awesome character by giving her access to haki, which for those who don't know originated from One Piece. It's described as a mysterious power found in all living things, and you can master the usage of it to do things like increasing defensive and offensive capabilities, foresee incoming attacks and threats, detect the presence of people, transfer into weapons to increase their power, and most importantly, nullify Devil Fruits' defensive capabilities. There's another kind called Conqueror's Haki, which can't be trained but must be born with. With it, you can train easily train animals and cause weak-willed people to pass out, which makes it useful for dealing with large armies, assuming their wills aren't too strong.

I've implemented haki into my Smash Bros. series ever since Age of Monsters, and according to Master Hand, who can use it since day one, they come in various names such as chi, ki, and aura. In Battle of the Sparks, it is revealed that Cybertronians are capable of using it as well, and they call it Enerspark.


	6. It's Super Effective!

**Chapter 6  
It's Super Effective!**

* * *

The appearance of the golem shocked almost all the tourists after finding out that it was hostile and intended to kill them. Other than a few of the Smashers, everyone rushed out of the recreation room the golem appeared in to get back outside or at least get to a safer location. Unfortunately for Sakura and Junko, those two ozmbie idols were left behind when the golem caused a cave in blocking the way out. The girls were horrified as they hugged each other while looking at the golem, who was staring down at the Smashers, all of whom were in fighting stances.

On the other side of the rocks blocking the doorway, the remaining five zombie idols rushed back there after finding out that two of them were missing. Pounding against the rocks, Saki called out, "Sakura! Junko! Are you in there?! Answer me!"

Tae was also pounding against the rocks while making incomprehensible cries, but it was clear no amount of pounding was going to get them through these rocks. Kotaro also returned to this place, but for different reasons. "Don't worry about those two and get out of here for now!" he told them. "That's an order!"

"But we can't leave Sakura and Junko in there!" Lily told him. "Something terrible will happen to them!"

"Yeah! We're not going to leave them alone! We're rescuing them no matter what!" Saki told the producer.

"The Smashers are in there as well, so they'll be all right!" Kotaro told them. This only caused question marks to appear over their heads.

"Smashers...?" asked a confused Ai.

"Who the hell are you talking about? Who are the Smashers?" Saki asked him.

The confused faces on the zombies made Kotaro come to the realization that they all died before the Smashers hit it big and became world renowned heroes, so the former wouldn't know who they are. It also didn't help the fact that they didn't have a TV at home nor did they ordered newspapers, so these zombies were actually kept in the dark about what was going on out in the world for the most part ever since their resurrections.

"They're... They're, like, super powerful! As long as the Smashers are in there, Sakura and Junko will be fine!" Kotaro told them. "I trust those people with the lives of those two, so just hurry up and get out of here now! It's better that some of you survive than all of you die, even though you're already dead!"

The zombies didn't know whether or not they should listen to them. Having never heard of the Smashers before, they weren't sure who those people were and if they could indeed keep Sakura and Junko safe. After Kotaro kept on insisting that they leave fast before anything bad happens, they decided to do so. As they began to leave, however, they noticed that Tae continued to pound against the rocks. Saki grabbed her arm and pulled her back, saying, "Let's go first, Tae! If Kotaro says they'll be fine, then we should listen to him! Let's just Sakura and Junko to whoever those Smashers are!"

* * *

Back inside, Sakura and Junko shrieked in terror as the golem slammed down his fist like a hammer in an attempt to hit the Smashers, creating a tremor when it did so. Having avoided the attack, Mario landed onto the fist and then ran up its arm to get to its head. Jumping at the head and pulling back his fist to both set it on fire and imbue it with haki, Mario delivered a powerful fiery punch against the golem's head, taking out a chunk of it. He kicked off the partially damaged head and flipped several times in the air as he fell back down, landing perfectly on his feet.

As the golem was pulling back his hand, Link jumped at the arm and swung down his haki-imbued sword to slice it off cleanly. Ganondorf then raised his hand into the air to charge up a ball of dark energy in his palm, and when it was about the size of a basketball, he hurled it at the golem, blasting him in the chest.

Wario let out a war cry as he ran towards one of the golem's legs with his shoulder pointing at it. He rammed his shoulder against the leg so hard that shrapnel flew all over the place as a crack was created on it. The golem took some steps back and was on the verge of falling on its back, but it was ultimately able to maintain its balance. To the Smashers' surprise, the broken parts of the rock monster began to regenerate. More rocks grew out of the damaged spots to patch up the damage parts. "Is that supposed to be normal among golems?" asked Link.

"Looks like we'll have to blow it into small bits if we want to take it out for good," said Ganondorf.

"Golems are earthen creatures with souls in them, or at least magical energy that keeps them bound together," said Palutena. "If this one follows the same concept, then there should be an energy source somewhere inside the body that we should target. By doing so, we should be able to destroy it. They're usually stored in the chest."

"For your record, I just blasted the chest just now, but got nothing," Ganondorf told her.

"Perhaps try blasting it now?" suggested Palutena.

"Bah! I'll just punch the heck out of it until it's broken into pieces and can no longer regenerate!" said Wario as he held up his fist and flexed it.

Sakura and Junko's looks of fear had become awe after seeing the Smashers' feats. "Those people are strong!" commented the latter.

"Who are those people?" wondered Sakura.

The golem let out a roar before angrily bringing his massive foot in the Smashers' direction with the intention of stomping them. Wario was underneath said foot when it came down, but instead of running like any sane person would, the mustachioed man raised his muscular arms into the air and caught the bottom side of the foot. Using all his strength, he was able to keep the golem from bringing that body part down and crushing him.

Using this opportunity, Greninja leaped incredibly high into the air while holding his webbed hand into the air. In doing so, he gathered together water drops that formed out of thin air, and said water drops spun around his hand and got together to form the shape of a large shuriken. The frog Pokemon then flung the shuriken made of water straight at the golem's face, embedding it deep into one of its eyes. The monster cried in pain while taking a step back, removing his foot from above Wario as a result.

Sharp claws shot out of Lucario's knuckles as the aura Pokemon dashed towards the pained golem. Going after the leg that wasn't used for stomping Wario earlier, Lucario swung the lengthy metal claws at that body part multiple times at a speed too fast for the untrained eye to see. In an instant, the entire leg was diced into small pieces, thus leaving the golem with only one leg and struggling to maintain balance.

By now, Sakura and Junko's jaws had dropped to the ground. Not literally, of course, though that if it did happen literally, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for people with decaying bodies like theirs.

Following Palutena's suggestion from earlier, Ganondorf placed his hands in front of his chest and let out a war cry as he tried his best to create a more powerful energy ball. As the energy ball began to grow in size in between his palms, his slowly raised his arm and pointed the still charging projectile at the struggling golem. When the energy ball was twice of the size of the previous one, the Gerudo let out a cry before shooting it at a fast speed at the monster. "WARLOCK CANNON!"

The large energy ball zipped through the air at an incredible speed, striking the golem's body and creating an explosion on impact. Debris flew all over the place as the golem completely lost its balance and fell backwards, crushing all the recreational equipment underneath as a result. Its arms and legs were separated from its body as a result of it crashing onto the ground. It should also be noted that smoke filled the air from the explosion of the energy ball.

"All right! You did not, Mister Ganondorf!" exclaimed Pit.

"Not yet!" said the Gerudo, narrowing his eyes as he paid attention to the clearing smoke.

As the smoke cleared away, one could see something glowing, or rather, burning. It was a ball of green fire, floating there in the air. "What's that?" asked Mario.

"That's its soul! It's the thing keeping the rocks together!" pointed out Palutena. "The golem won't be destroyed for real unless we eliminate the soul!"

"Leave it to me, Lady Palutena!" said Pit as he readied his bow before flying towards the soul.

"That thing's mine! I haven't done anything yet!" said Dark Pit as he did the same.

Both angels flew after the golem's soul and fired energy arrows from their bows. The soul swiftly moved out of the way and found itself on the run around the room from the two angels as they chased it nonstop while constantly shooting the same kinds of projectiles.

The soul eventually headed for the ceiling, and just before it got hit by one of Pit's arrows, it went through the ceiling as if it wasn't there. The two angels stopped in air in surprise, and Pit said, "It escaped!" Dark Pit cursed angrily about this.

The Smashers looked at where the spirit disappeared into for a few seconds, and then Lucario said, "I can no longer sense its aura. It has left a great deal of distance from here..."

"Where do you think it went to?" asked Link.

"I have da feeling that-a we should head-a back to da surface fast," suggested Mario. "I fear for da safety of da people up there..."

"You have a point," agreed Palutena with a nod. "Chances are likely that the golem escaped to the surface, and if the escapees are still there, then it may attack them."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go fast and beat the lights out of it for real this time!" said Wario, pointing at the blocked doorway with his thumb.

Everyone turned to look at said doorway to see that Sakura and Junko were still there. "You two all right?" Link asked them.

"Than... Thank you very much...!" Junko said to them, still looking nervous.

"Wow...! You people... are strong! I didn't expect that!" said Sakura, who looked more cheerful.

"We get-a that a lot," said Mario as he approached them. "Anyway, eetz good that-a you two are all right! Eet would be bad eef you were hurt!"

"Out of the way, you two!" said Wario as he headed towards the doorway, shoving the two zombie idols aside as he did so. "Time to get all these junks out of the way!"

"How are you going to get out of here?" Junko asked him.

Wario didn't give a response but instead observed the debris blocking the doorway for a few seconds. "All right! Stand back!" he said as he began walking away. After moving away some distance, he began running towards the doorway again, this time with his head lowered. He built up to top speed just as his head came in contact with the debris, instantly clearing it and therefore creating the way out. The two zombie idols were surprised at the sight of this, even though they shouldn't be anymore after all that they've seen previously.

Wario shook his head and dusted himself a bit before saying to the others, "There! Path cleared! Are you going to keep on staying here or what? Hurry up!" He then continued on by himself.

As everyone began to leave, Link said Mario, "For someone who doesn't use armament haki, Wario sure has some insane strength..."

"I know, right...?" replied Mario.

"If he's this strong without using it, imagine how terrifying he can be if he does use it..." said Link, almost shuddering at the thought of it.

As the two idols were leaving side by side, Junko whispered to Sakura, "What... What's with these crazy strong people...? I've never seen anyone like them when I was alive!"

"Me too...!" replied Sakura with a slight nod.

* * *

More or less all the tourists who were previously down in the mine had escaped to the surface, standing outside the building, to be precise. Everyone was panting heavily due to running at a fast speed to get back to the surface. Now that they were at this place, they were sure that the coast was clear and that they could get a breather.

"Are you all right, princess?" a blue Toad asked Daisy, who was sitting on a flat rock.

"I'm fine," she replied. She then turned to look at Peach, who was sitting on another rock next to her. "You all right?"

"I'm all right as well," replied the princess in pink.

"So... your friends are still down there," Daisy told her. "They should be able to deal with whatever that thing is, right?"

"Of course! Mario and the others are strong! They can definitely defeat the monster!" Peach told her with confidence.

"That's what I want to hear! I've heard a lot about the incredible feats of you Smashers! I'm sure that monster will be no match for them! In fact, they probably sent it running in fear already!" said Daisy. Her confident and cheerful face was in an instant turned into a shock, and then she looked around in great panic.

"What... What's wrong?" asked Peach, a bit freaked out by her sudden chance in behavior.

"This feeling... It's that monster again!" cried the princess in yellow. Her volume was so loud that almost everyone present heard what she said and was shocked.

All of a sudden, the ground before them started rising and taking the form of a humanoid being. Everyone gasped in horror as the golem from before was now standing right in front of them. "WAAAAAAAAAAA! IT'S HERE AGAIN!" screamed Luigi with his hands pressing against his face.

"Did it defeat our friends?!" asked Yoshi in shock.

"I'm more inclined to think that it got defeated and retreated all the way to this place..." said Dr. Mario.

Everyone screamed in terror as the golem began heading in his or her direction. Blue then rushed out of the crowd with two Pokeballs in her hands, standing bravely in front of the approaching monster. "I'll deal with this monster!" she said out loud with a look of confidence. She heard her mother calling out to her, telling not to act recklessly. In response, she said, "Don't worry, mom! I didn't become Pokemon trainer for nothing! Time to show you the fruits of my training! Come out, Blasty and Nidory!"

Throwing her out Pokeballs, a Blastoise and a Nidoqueen appeared, both of them stomping the ground and letting out cries, ready to take on whatever was before them.

 **BGM: Trainer Battle Theme (Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee)**

The golem let out a cry before slamming its hand in the direction of the two Pokemon. Nidory leaped out of the way, while Blasty jumped straight up and, after landing onto the rocky arm, withdrew into his shell and began rolling up it like a wheel. When Blasty reached the shoulder, he kept on going and flew high into the air as a result. Coming back out his shell, Blasty flipped himself upside-down and took aim with the cannons coming out of his shell.

"Blasty! Use Hydro Pump!" Blue shouted at the Pokemon. Heeding her command, the Blastoise fired a pair of high pressure water blasts from his cannons. In fact, the water blasts were so powerful that it successfully chipped off off quite a chunk of the golem's head upon impact. The water blasts looked more like blue laser beams being fired.

Turning to her Nidoqueen, Blue commanded her to use Horn Drill on one of the golem's legs. Bright energy appeared and swirled around Nidory's horn, giving it the appearance of a drill. The Nidoqueen ran towards the left leg and slammed her horn into it. In an instant, cracks spread across the entirety of the leg, and then it shattered, once again making the golem one-legged.

By now, everyone was amazed the performance of the two Pokemon in battling the golem.

"Wow! She's good!" commented Yoshi.

"Jiggly want to fight too!" said Jigglypuff while hopping up and down and almost looking jealous. "Yoshi throw Jigglypuff at monster! Jiggly will fight it!"

Yoshi looked at the Pokemon and asked her again for confirmation about what she wanted. When she insisted on fighting the golem, the green dinosaur picked her up and then threw her with all his might at the rock monster. As she was flying towards the golem, the balloon Pokemon took a deep breath and puffed up her body before suddenly letting loose a powerful screaming attack known as Hyper Voice. "JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

A massive and powerful blast of sound tore through the air, striking the golem and instantly making cracks appear all over its body. The sound was so loud that everyone had to close his or her ears due to how ear-shattering it was. Because it only has one left leg, the golem fell back as a result of the attack and slammed onto the ground hard.

When Jigglypuff unleashed Hyper Voice, she underwent a recoil that propelled her back through the air and coincidentally landed back on her original spot, next to Yoshi. Proud of her accomplishment, she spun a few times and then struck a pose. It's actually one of her taunts in the Smash Bros. games.

"Warning next time please before you use that attack...?" Yoshi said to her while shaking his head to regain his senses from the ear-shattering attack earlier.

Everyone looked at the golem and was relieved that it was defeated, only to be struck with fear again when the golem's leg instantly regrew as the monster slowly got back up, the cracks on its body also healing. "It's still not dead!" gasped Luigi, pointing out the obvious.

Despite this, Blue still looked confident that she would win. "Looks like we need more firepower!" she said. She then raised her arm to reveal a jeweled bracelet she was wearing. "Let's do it, Blasty! Mega Evolution!" In saying that, the piece of jewelry on the bracelet let out a bright flash, and Blasty responded to it by glowing brightly.

The Pokemon was then engulfed in pinkish-white light, followed by an explosion of light, and when it died down, Blasty now sported a slightly different appearance. Rather than having two cannons on his back, he now has a total of three: a large one coming out the back of his shell and two smaller ones on the back of his arms. The newly transformed Pokemon let out a loud cry as he stomped the ground, as if flaunting his new form.

"All right! It's Mega Evolution!" exclaimed Villager, who was standing among the amazed crowd. "Mega Blastoise!"

"Blastoise can evolve?!" said Saki and Lily in surprise. The remaining five members of Franchouchou had previously left the mine as well and were among those standing closest to the building, as they were the last ones to leave. Despite the distance from the scene of battle, which isn't that far to begin with, they could still see clearly the Pokemon's transformation.

A random guy turned to them with a confused expression and said, "Dude, never heard of Mega Evolution before?"

In response, the two zombie idols nervously smiled, and Saki said, "Oh right... Temporarily forgot..."

"Yeah..." replied Lily with a nod.

After that tourist looked away, those two whispered to each other about this. "What's Mega Evolution?" Saki asked Lily.

"I don't know... I can only guess it's a Pokemon thing newly discovered after we died..." replied the latter.

As the golem took a step forward, glaring menacingly at the Mega Blastoise, who stared back menacingly, Blue told the latter, "Blasty, show it the power of your new ability Mega Launcher by using Water Pulse!"

Blasty let out a cry before slightly lowering his body to take aim at the rock monster with all three of his cannons. Blue light came out from the turrets before ring-shaped blasts of water were fired continuously at the golem, each of them growing in size as they did so. Just like that, the golem was completely overwhelmed by the fast-moving and ever-growing water rings that struck it as hard as a wrecking ball hitting it. The golem cried in pain as each continuous hit pushed it back a step, not to mention making cracks appear on it.

All eyes were in awe as the usually unimpressive Water-type move became an incredibly powerful and deadly-looking move thanks to the Mega Pokemon's new ability. However, despite the ferocity of the move, the golem was still able to remain on both feet, and the cracks on its body began to heal again.

"Mamamia! How are we going to destroy something that keeps on fixing itself?!" asked Luigi, worried and horrified at sight of a seemingly unbeatable enemy.

"Indeed, it can be tough..." said Dr. Mario with his fingers underneath his chin as if he was in deep thought. "However, even regeneration should have its limits. But I can't really say such rules apply to a being made of inorganic material such as this monster..."

Blue remained confident, however. "If that's the case, then we'll give it something dangerous and scary! Blasty, use Dragon Pulse!"

Heeding her command, Blasty took aim with all three of his cannons again, and this time, they gave off a dark blue glow from their turrets. After a few seconds, blasts of fire-like energy were fired from the cannons, and what caught the eyes of everyone was that the front ends of those energy beams were in the form of the heads of dragons, all of them with their jaws wide open. In fact, the energy beams were moving through the air in a fashion that seemed as if they were alive.

The golem did not get out of the way as these energy dragons collided with it, striking it in both its limbs and also the center of its body. Like real living things, two of the energy dragons bit down onto the limbs, instantly tearing them off and carrying them all the way into the air. As for the one that struck the golem's chest, it went through the rocky body like it was made of butter. Unbeknownst to Blue, that particular dragon had managed to catch the golem's spirit in its mouth and kept it stored there, where the fire-like energy constantly burned it. If one listened closely, they could hear the spirit making a painful cry.

All three dragons heads arced up high into the air, a sight that amazed all those who beheld them. The spirit continued to scream in pain as it remained trapped within the dragon's head, and the other heads continued to carry the limbs they've caught in their mouths. All of a sudden, each of the dragon heads imploded into a large ball of energy, completely annihilating everything they held captive. The spirit screamed to the bitter end as the implosion burned it down to nothingness.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

 **BGM Ends**

With the spirit destroyed, what as left of the golem's body down below began to crack apart until it crumbled into pieces completely, no longer being to restore itself again. Blue, however, wasn't so sure about feeling victorious yet and so kept her eyes on the debris to make sure that things were indeed over. Everyone else had the same thought as well.

However, when the golem never regenerated itself, it became clear that it was defeated for good, and everyone's worried look became that of excitement. Roars of applause filled the air as they clapped their hands and cheered for Blue, praising her nonstop and calling her their savior.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!"

"YOU'RE AWESOME!"

"GREATEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"

"BRAVO!"

"MY HERO!"

The Pokemon trainer blushed as she scratched the back of her head, both enjoying the praises but also feeling embarrassed. Her parents rushed out of the crowd and ran up to her to embrace her, which only made her more embarrassed. At the same time, Blasty changed back to his normal form and approached the family of three with Nidory, both Pokemon feeling happy for their trainer. "Please... Let go of me, mom... It's embarassing..." Blue said to her mother, who was hugging her tightly.

"Wow! That was great!" said Yoshi while clapping his hand at a fast speed.

"I'm so glad it's over! I thought we were all goners!" said Luigi as he clapped and cried tears of happiness at the same time, though it was possible those was actually tears of the fear that they might die if the golem was truly unbeatable.

Blue pried herself off her mother, and then Daisy went up to Blue and patted her on her shoulder. "Congratulations! You made this princess proud! I ought to reward you somehow for this!" the princess happily said to her.

Way at the back, Franchouchou was equally amazed at what they saw and still had a hard time believing things. "I've seen Pokemon battles on televisions before, but... this is on an entirely different level...!" said Ai.

"I'm surprised myself too! Never realized that Pocket Monsters are capable of such things!" said Yuugiri.

Saki looked at the courtesan while raising an eyebrow upon hearing the way she called Pokemon. "Pocket... Monsters...?"

As everyone continued to praise Blue, the remaining Smashers who were originally down below finally made it back onto the surface, most of them looking worried due to thinking that the golem might have caused trouble here. Upon seeing the cheering crowd, they became confused. "Um... Did we miss out something...?" asked Link.

Sakura and Junko showed up as well, and seeing their companions standing near the doorway, they happily rushed up to them while calling out their names. The latter turned around and were glad to see those two returning in good condition. "Sakura! Junko! You're both all right!" exclaimed Ai.

Lily happily tossed himself onto Sakura to give her a great big hug, while Tae tossed herself against Junko's side and bit her head, though the white-haired girl didn't react too much other than recoiling a bit from the initial impact. This odd behavior earned a couple of stares from the Smashers.

Ignoring Tae's weird interaction with Junko, Mario asked the idols, "What's happening outta there?"

"That monster showed up here somehow, but someone made a quick work out of it," said Saki, pointing at Blue with her thumb. The trainer was still being praised and even surrounded by the people.

The Smashers walked out the building to get a better look at things, and they noticed the motionless remains of the golem lying not too far from Blue. Needless to say, they were surprised. "She actually destroyed its spirit!" commented Palutena with a smile.

"This isn't what I was expecting..." said Link.

"Darn it! She stole my prey!" complained Wario in disappointment while stomping the ground multiple times.

"We should be thankful that nobody was hurt," said Lucario. "I sure do hope father is all right."

Yoshi suddenly poked his head up from among the crowd and waved at them, not to mention calling out to them, "Hey guys! Good to see you safe and sound! We're all right over here!" Luigi popped up next to him and waved as well, saying similar things.

* * *

The cops and reporters arrived after this incident over. Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, no one was hurt at all. The media coverage was more or less all over Blue, who was being swarmed by interviewers, asking her various questions, ranging from ones that made sense to ones that didn't make sense. The Pokemon trainer was embarrassed and at a loss of how to respond, and her parents were trying their best to keep the reporters from prying into personal business.

The Smashers were watching from the sidelines, and they sort of feel bad for the situation Blue was in currently. "It's reasons like this that fame don't exactly suit well with me..." said Link.

"Funny, I thought you were always the kind of person to enjoy fame," Ganondorf said to him.

"At least not as much as you..." Link said to him while giving him a stare.

As the reporters continue to surround Blue, Daisy suddenly called out loudly to them, grabbing their attentions. The princess and her bodyguards made their way through the parting crowd and up to Blue. Placing her arm around the trainer's shoulders, she said, "As the princess of Sarasaland, I would like to congratulate her for saving us all! However, it would be respectful of you people to give her some privacy! All you have to know is that she did for the sake of saving lives and nothing else, and what reason do you need to save lives? Now if you'll excuse us... There is royalty duty to attend to, and they are coming with me!"

Daisy then told her bodyguards to help escort Blue and her family back to her limousine, or rather, a rental limousine her escorts acquired soon after arriving at this place. Despite what she said earlier, the media still attempted to crowd around Blue. They crowded around the limousine as they all got inside it, and then the vehicle took off. That was when the trainer finally shook off the media.

Watching the limousine drive off, Peach said, "Let's hope she'll be fine. Poor girl... Must be overwhelmed by her sudden fame..."

"Part of me thinks it has to do with this place not being a Pokemon region," said Dr. Mario. "Pokemon battles and such are nonexistent or at least incredibly rare in this part of the world, so seeing what she did would definitely stir up quite a conversation."

"All that-a mattas now eez that the situation eez resolved peacefully!" said Mario. "Happy ending to everyone!"

"But we still don't know where that golem came from..." said Pit.

"Right, it indeed doesn't make sense for a monster like that to show up so suddenly..." said Zelda.

Meanwhile, Franchouchou was getting ready to leave the place. The idols all boarded their rental van, and Kotaro was at the wheel, ready to take off. "Well, that was quite an experience, isn't it?" he said to them. "Either way, I'm glad you're all fine! Don't let what happened fret you and keep you from your practices! You still have a lot to do tonight and tomorrow if you want to get ready for two days later!"

All the idols had rather unimpressed looks as they listened to him speak and start the engines. Ai then asked him, "How long do you intend to keep us in the dark about the news going on around the world?"

"Yeah, ever since we became zombies, we know jack s*** about what's been happening out there ever since we died!" said Saki, not sounding happy.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Kotaro asked them.

"Either get us our own computer or a television, anything that can give us access to news," demanded Ai straightforwardly. The others nodded in agreement.

"And using my computer behind my back isn't enough?" Kotaro said to them. "You should be glad I don't mind you using mines! Plus, you lot should be focused on your job as idols and not let anything else distract you! The dead has no business getting into the affairs of the living!"

He was going to began driving, but all of a sudden, he felt a chill traveling down his spine. An intense pressure was coming from behind him. He wanted to look back, but was at the same time scared. If one was to look behind him, he would see a dark atmosphere enveloping much of the van's back part, shrouding the idols. Their eyes were glowing red brightly, giving him creepy and intimidating glares. This wasn't literal, of course.

"Please respect the dead, Mister Tatsumi, or else they will haunt you in your sleep," Yuugiri said in a sweet yet scary-sounding voice, and the others nodded.

Without turning his head around, the producer said while trembling violently, "Fine... but only if you win... the contest... okay...?"

* * *

Julius himself also arrived at this place. Standing outside the building leading into the mine, he looked around at the police investigating the place and eventually noticed Alucard coming up the stairs leading down below. "Found anything?" Julius asked the half-vampire.

Alucard shook his head. "Nothing, but even so, there is no questioning that the golem was sent by Dracula."

"I figured as much," said Julius. "But the question is how did a monster like that got here? I'm not saying how it got down there considering what we've heard about its powers. I'm questioning how it got to this world. Something like that should only be found within the walls of Castlevania. Shouldn't the seal on that castle still be far from being broken?"

"Even I do not know the answer to that," said Alucard.

"Darn it! We know Dracula is close by, yet we still don't know anything about his whereabouts and what he's doing!" said Julius in frustration. "If only there is something we can do now!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

I thought it would be interesting if the idols all died before the Smashers became famous, even for the ones who lived past year 2000 in official works (Sakura, Ai, and Lily). This allows for me to give them interesting reactions to finding out how much the world has changed since their deaths.

Also, I've never really kept track of time in my Smash Bros. series. I'm using the media trope where no matter long a series has ran, nobody seems to age at all, even if technology and various world events are constantly progressing. It's basically what the Simpsons is doing. No matter how much Christmas has passed or how many presidents have changed in the United States, Bart will never leave elementary school and Maggie will always be a baby. The same is applied to my series.

Anyway, I had fun with this chapter as well as the others. In fact, I'm having a lot of fun with this story, which is why I'm updating so fast! And it's also why I haven't updated Justice of Two Worlds yet... Please continue to be patient with me regarding that story; I will definitely update it.

Now the next chapter of this story is one I look forward to a lot, other than the final battle of this story. No, I didn't spoil anything by saying the latter. You know this story will have a final battle, considering that there is a villain.

The next will be a trip down the memory lane of my Smash Bros. series. It's not a special extra chapter or anything. It will still be a normal chapter, but its contents will be a nostalgic trip reminding you of the things the Smashers have been through. Plus, it's also a good way to let those who are unfamiliar with this series learn something!

I hope you look forward to what I mean in the next chapter!


	7. A Smash to the Past

This may sound really sudden, **but I'm actually in the planning stages of another crossover story: a Zombie Land Saga and Dead Rising crossover!** It's going to be a one-shot, however, meaning there's only one chapter. Because of this, that story won't take up too much time in me working on this story and Justice of Two Earths. I don't know when it will be posted yet, but do know that a crossover between those two zombie franchises will come soon from me! Hope you look forward to it!

And here comes one of the biggest chapters in this story! I had a lot of fun typing this out, so I hope it's all worth it! If you need to be reminded of the adventures the Smashers had been through, then this chapter is right up your alley!

Also, in case you haven't realized it yet, Blue's Blastoise is supposed to be a stand-in for Pokemon Trainer's Squirtle.

One last thing: I've finally updated Justice of Two Worlds!

 **Chapter 7  
A Smash to the Past**

* * *

That night at the hotel, Franchouchou resolved to know more about what they were missing out ever since their deaths. It so happened that the hotel had four public computers for use, though hourly payment was required. This was a small issue for them, so they rented themselves one of the computers. While six of the zombies gathered around one computer, Tae was reclining on a nearby couch, staring into blank space like she usually did.

Pit was also using one of the computers, and he had headphones on as he watched videos on it with a smile on his face. These computers came with speakers but no headphones, though the angel brought one himself.

"Um... Shouldn't we be practicing for the contest?" asked a worried Sakura.

"Nah, Tatsumi says it's fine if we don't do it today, because he couldn't get the permission to use the conference room, as someone else is using it," Saki told her, and then she began chuckling. "You should've been there when he got turned down!"

* * *

 _FLASHBACK_

Saki was watching from a distance at Kotaro, who was standing in front of the conference room's entrance. The door was open, and Wario was standing there. The producer asked him if it was possible that he let his idols make use of this room, but Wario responded in a rude way. "Screw you! First come, first serve! We're not lending it to anyone competing against us in the contest!" He then slammed the door right in Kotaro's face.

The producer remained standing in place and staring at the door. The door suddenly opened up, and Wario stepped back out, this time wearing a pair of shades with golden frames decorated with sparkling crystals. "And your shades stink! Mines better! Get a better one, doofus!" he told the producer before slamming the door shut again.

The producer stood in place for a few seconds before lowering his head, looking depressed, as evident of a gloomy, purple aura appearing around him. This isn't literal, however.

Meanwhile, Saki was trying her best not to laugh out loud at what she saw and heard.

 _END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

Ai was in front of her computer, looking up info that she and the others wanted to know. The first topic they looked up were the Smashers. From the little of what they heard from Kotaro, these people appeared to be famous heroes and celebrities known worldwide. Unfortunately for the girls, they died before this group made a name of themselves, but now it was time to find out the truth.

From what they found out, the Smashers were a relatively large group of people consisting of people who were either nobodies or relatively well-known to begin with, royalties, and even reformed criminals, all of them gathered together by someone called Master Hand. The reason for this gathering was unknown. They currently live in Onett, Eagleland.

"Looks like they are indeed famous people and have been established for quite a while already," said Ai, scrolling through a website that talked about them.

"What makes them so popular anyway?" asked Saki.

"Well, it says here that they saved the world on countless accounts and did several incredible feats that impressed people," said Ai. "It doesn't really go into much details, but I think I can find more on that by looking threw news archives." Heading to the news section of Google, she looked up as much articles as she could on the Smashers and tried to track down the earliest known news article about them.

"Wow... I still can't believe how useful this internet thing is..." commented Junko. Having born, lived and died at an age where the internet didn't exist, something like this was unheard of to her. This wasn't her first contact with the internet, as she had witnessed Ai using Kotaru's internet back in Saga and even played around with it herself, but even so, it was still something that impressed her every time she saw it.

"People nowadays sure like to come up with strange but admittedly useful things," said Yuugiri. Having died back in the 1800s, even the concept of a computer was completely alien to her.

After a bit of searching, Ai finally found what might be the earliest known news article about the Smashers, and it wasn't exactly what she expected. "Smash Mansion explodes...?"

* * *

 **THE DAY SMASH MANSION EXPLODED**

"No! This is not Caesar's Pizza Palace!" Bowser angrily screamed into the phone before slamming it back in its place. Constantly getting wrong phone calls from whoever this was had driven him insane.

As if him throwing a fit over this wasn't enough, Kirby was currently angrily demanding something to eat. "I want food! I'm hungry!"

Yoshi was doing the same thing as well, slamming the table with his fists, which were holding a fork and a knife. "Me too!"

"We're out of gas, so I need to send for more first," Peach told her, and she looked rather impatient concerning those two's attitudes.

"I can't wait any longer!" cried Kirby while slapping the table nonstop.

"Food! I need food!" cried Yoshi, doing a similar action.

Frustrated, Peach shouted at them, "Enough already and have patience! You're not the only ones hungry! We all are, but we can't cook without fire!"

"You want fire? I'll give you fire!" replied Kirby angrily. Turning to Bowser, who had just returned to his seat, he sucked the surprised turtle into his mouth and then swallowed him. A star popped out from behind the pink puffball somehow, and said star changed into Bowser in the blink of an eye, and the turtle still had a look of shock on his face. Kirby now sported Bowser's horns, hair, and eyebrows.

He then rushed into the kitchen and opened his mouth in the direction of the cooking stove. Peach rushed to see what he was going to do and was horrified. "STOP! DON'T!"

Too late; the pink puffball breathed a stream of fire at the stove. It came in contact with the gas tank, and even though it was empty, there was still a bit of gas leftover, and that was more than enough to react to the fire negatively and result in a massive explosion that tore through the entire mansion, completely annihilating it.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

All those who happened to be passing by the mansion were shocked by this sudden occurrence, but to say that they were the only ones was a huge understatement, as the loudness and size f the explosion was heard and seen respectively almost throughout Onett, and people soon flocked over to this place to see what happened. Needless to say, they were surprise to find the burned down remains of the mansion and various charred figures standing in the midst of them.

Miraculously, all the Smashers survived the explosion.

"Our... Our house..." said Fox in disbelief while looking at the sky.

"It's nothing but a pile of ashes now..." added Falco, looking stunned.

Ness had a blank look on his face, still trying to comprehend what happened. Suddenly, something dropped down in front of him, and he looked to see that it was his Gamecube. Picking it up and observing it all over, he was relieved to see that it was somehow still looking good, at least physically. "At least my Gamecube is still functioning! I think..."

"Telephone too," said Jigglypuff, looking at said phone lying nearby that seemed untouched for some reason, and its cable was still attached to the socket. Surprisingly, the phone rang.

Bowser picked up the phone and spoke into it in an eerily calm voice, "If you are here to ask for Caesar's Pizza Palace, then please let kindly remind you that you are doing nothing but mocking us currently regarding our tragic situation. Now please kindly hang up this call within five seconds, or else I will personally track you down and burn down your house. Thank you." He waited five seconds before placing the phone back down.

Everyone then shifted his or her eyes to Kirby, who had a blank expression. "So... Sorry..." he said with a voice full of guilt.

* * *

"Wow... And they all survived that?!" said Saki in disbelief. They had just read through a news article detailing the destruction of the Smash Mansion, and somehow, every single one of them survived. As if that wasn't enough, none of them were badly injured or hospitalized.

"I can't believe it!" commented Sakura in equal awe. "Any normal person would've died from an explosion like that, and they were in the center of it!"

Ai continued to look for more news, searching for the first time where they were hailed as heroes. It didn't take long for her to come across what might be the answer to what she was looking for. "Smasher saves world from Darkling..."

* * *

 **DARKLING**

"Quick! Launch the missile!" Master Hand shouted at Crazy Hand

"YES!" Crazy Hand replied as he slammed his palm onto a button on the control panel. This activated the missile, and a large amount of fire shot out from its rear end, gradually causing the whole thing to shoot through the air.

It was at this moment the massive door situated up in the sky swung upon, pouring out a large amount of purple miasma when it did so. Naraku watched with a face full of glee as he said, "At last! The Diablo Darkling is freed!"

A pair of menacing purple eyes appeared on the other side of the door, followed by a massive black hand reaching out from it, as if grasping empty air. "Finally! I shall walk the world again and fill it with darkness!" However, before he could do anything else, the giant missile collided into the palm of his hand and began pushing it back. "What?! What is this?!"

Cracks appeared all over the missile, and all of a sudden, it exploded in a massive burst of bright light, so much that the dark sky was made white and gold. All those who witnessed the light couldn't open their eyes and had to close them due to the pain it was causing them.

Not only that, the bright light was also causing tremendous burning pain to the Diablo Darkling, and the massive Darkling cried in pain as the heat forced his hand back through the door.

Knowing what they have to do, Master Hand and Crazy Hand rushed towards the door just as the explosion died down, but the light still filling the place. Each of them pressed against the set of doors, and they let out a loud cry as they tried to push the whole thing close.

The Diablo Darkling attempted to force his way out, however, and struggled against the Hands. "You fools! What do you think you're doing?! I will not let you stop me from reaching freedom!"

"You're not having your way!" Master Hand shouted back at the Diablo Darkling while pushing with all his might, and he told Crazy Hand to push as hard as he could.

Due to exposure to the explosion of light, the Diablo Darkling was weakened quite a bit, so the Hands were able to prevail against him in the end and completely close the door. Acting quick, Master Hand whipped out an x-shaped bandage out of nowhere and slapped it onto the door, taping it shut. Both Hands then chanted some sort of incomprehensible incantation, and when they were done, the seal glowed brightly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGH! MY FREEDOM!" screamed the Diablo Darkling from behind the sealed door. "YOU MORTALS! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME! YOU WILL PAY! YOU WILL PAY!"

The seal let out a bright flash as if it exploded, and when the light disappeared, the door was gone as well.

Down below, the Smashers were looking up in awe at what had just happened. "They did it! The Hands did it!" exclaimed Captain Falcon.

"All right! We stopped the Diablo Darkling from entering this world!" said Roy in joy. All the other Smashers then jumped up and down in excitement and celebrated.

However, it was still too soon for celebration, as there was still one person left to deal with. Having seen everything from the giant airship known as the Black Wing and witnessing his efforts coming to a naught like this, Naraku burned with intense rage. "How dare you...? How dare you... SEAL AWAY THE DIABLO DARKLING?!" said the demon in rage as he slowly built up his speaking volume.

Meanwhile, Mario was rushing towards the demon on a warp star, gripping the Fire Rod in his hand tightly. "NARAKU!" the plumber shouted loudly at him. "I WILL KNOCK-A YOU DOWN!"

* * *

Even though the potential global-scaled crisis was averted before it actually reached that level, the zombie idols were still at a loss of words to learn that something of this scale happened to the world. "Dang! I can't believe something like this happened after we all died!" said Saki in awe.

"What's a Darkling?" asked Junko.

Ai took a couple of seconds to look up that term and found the answer. "It says here that the Darkling are the physical embodiment of evil, having existed since the beginning of time when the first spark of life came into being. They currently exist in a separate dimension called the Forbidden Realm. Apparently, there are guard duties all over the world ensuring that the various entrances to the Forbidden Realm do not get breached so that the Darkling do not escape from there."

"Scary..." said Lily, looking nervous.

"Looks like there is a lot to this world we truly don't know about," commented Yuugiri with interest.

"Man! I love these Smashers already!" said Saki, sounding excited as she leaned towards the computer. "Anything else interesting on them?"

Ai searched again and found on a rather interesting one. "Smashers destroy Alias Lobby..."

* * *

 **ARMAGEDDON: THE CORRUPTION**

After almost falling to their deaths from a bridge situated high above the sea and in between two towering mesas, Mario, Pikachu, an unconscious Yoshi, Marth, Wario, and Pit were rescued by Master Hand, who carried them to the top and set them onto solid ground, and they were reunited with Samus and Snake.

Learning that Captain Falcon was still fighting CP9 member Lucci, Wario suggested that they help the former, but Master Hand insisted otherwise. "No, it's too dangerous. Rob Lucci is the most powerful CP9 in history. It is said that when he was thirteen years old, he was sent to a country taken over by criminals, and he was to rescue the 500 hostages held there. However, because the captors threatened to kill the hostages if he did anything, Lucci killed all the hostages himself instead, thinking that it will ruin the the criminals' plans. That man is basically a bloodthirsty psycho who would not stop at anything to do what he deems justice!"

"Mamamia... That-a guy's crazy!" said Mario in shock.

"I'm afraid that we will only be a burden to Captain Falcon if we try to help him," said Master Hand. "All we can do now is to trust in his strength and hope that he will win this fight! I'm sure he would want to handle things himself as well!"

Up in the air, Captain Falcon and Lucci was engaged in a heated battle that had been going on for quite a while. Their battle took place atop one of the airships belonging to the Annihilation Call, a fleet of airships designed to destroy entire islands. Their intense battle caused great damage to said airship, and the soldiers on board were in great panic, fearing that they would be caught in the fight.

"Falcon Double Punch!" Captain Falcon shouted as he punched with both fists at once, both of them covered in falcon-shaped fire. The attack struck Lucci hard in the body, creating dual explosions that propelled him backwards.

"I'M NOT DONE YET!" yelled Lucci as he used Geppou, a technique involving kicking the air to perform air jumps, to propel himself back towards the F-Zero racer, and as he did so, he transformed into his complete leopard form. His speed caught Captain Falcon off guard and, pouncing onto his body, bit him hard in the left shoulder.

The momentum of Lucci flying into Captain Falcon caused the both of them to fly off the edge of the airship and plummet towards the helicopter pad below. Captain Falcon cried in pain as Lucci dug his fangs deep into his shoulder, but the former was eventually able to pry him off and smacked him across the face hard.

Captain Falcon then grabbed Lucci, and they both began spinning as they plummet towards the helicopter pad below. As they spun, they not only built up speed, but also began catching fire that spun around them, thus basically becoming a fire tornado.

The Smashers down below noticed them falling down, but they didn't realize what it was. "What is that?" asked Pichu.

"It must be a shooting star!" said Pit.

Thinking that Pit was right about this, Wario clasped his hands together while looking at the supposed star. "I'm making a wish! My wish is to be able to beat Mario in a fight for once!"

"Um... Isn't it odd to see a shooting star under bright sunlight...?" asked a skeptical Snake.

"That's not a shooting star! It's Captain Falcon!" pointed out Master Hand. "And he's falling towards the helicopter! Run!" Everyone did as he said.

CF and Lucci spun even faster than before as they dropped closer to the ground below. "What are you doing?!" cried Lucci.

"To end this once and for all!" replied Captain Falcon. "FALCON PILEDRIVER!"

He then forcefully slammed Lucci headfirst onto the top of the helicopter's propeller, sinking him into the body of the helicopter as a result and even going all the way through it and hitting the ground below. The impact was so strong that a huge crack was created, spreading across the entire area.

KAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The other Smashers were in shock and awe at what they just witnessed. As they continued to stare at the fire left behind by the explosion, Captain Falcon suddenly jumped out of the fire and landed in front of them, charred and injured from head to toe. Landing in a typical superhero manner, if you know what I mean. He looked up at the surprised Smashers and said with a smirk, "Hope I wasn't late for anything!"

* * *

The Smashers were blamed for the destruction of Alias Lobby and the other casualties caused. As a result, the ones involved in this incident were branded criminals by the World Government, and bounties were placed on their heads.

"But they were simply trying to rescue a friend! It's not fair to call them criminals just because of that!" said Lily, not happy with what he read.

"Well, they did destroy an important government location... That's considered a crime, I'm sure..." said Sakura.

"Did it say why the government captured this Samus woman in the first place?" Saki asked Ai, but the latter shook her head.

"It didn't say anything other than that she was an convict who has been on the run ever since she was a child," replied the latter.

Junko was shocked to hear this. "A convict ever since she was a child...?! What did she do to warrant something like this?!"

"Somehow I have the feeling that this is something the public isn't allowed to know..." said Ai.

"If they became criminals, then how is it they are still traveling around so freely today and even not causing panic among the public with their presence?" asked Yuugiri.

"Let's see if I can find anything about this..." said Ai. While looking for whether or not the Smashers were pardoned for their crimes, she ended up stumbling upon a different article that grabbed her attention. "Smashers take down criminal organization, the Negativities..."

* * *

 **RISE OF THE NEGATIVITIES**

Destruction was all over the place as the Smashers battled King N, otherwise known as Porky Minch, the mastermind of the Negativities. The hopelessly evil child piloting the Devil Transformer, a massive vaguely cone-shaped robot with spider legs and large arms, launched all sort of attacks at the Smashers, who dodged everything he tossed at them and fought back with great effort.

Mewtwo, Lucas, Samus, and Blasty, whom Red borrowed from Blue, used their ice-based attacks against the legs of the giant robot, freezing it in place. "You think a little ice can make me catch a cold? Stop dreaming!" said Porky angrily. He tried moving the legs, it was too buried in thick ice to move. "Argh! Move, would ya?!"

Next, Link, Young Link, and Pit fired from their arrows, the former two using their Holy Weapons, the Silver Arrow and the Light Arrow respectively, at the right shoulder of the Devil Transformer. The powerful explosions of light created by the arrows tore off the right arm from its socket completely, much to Porky's horror.

Enraged, Porky unleashed a pincer that came out from the lower front part of the Devil Transformer, and it picked up a random pole erected nearby and hurled it at some of the Smashers. Donkey Kong easily caught the pole and then flung it back at the robot, only for the pincer to break it in half.

A hatch underneath the pincer then opened up, and robotic Porky clones came pouring out, flailing their arms as they ran towards Donkey Kong, ready to self-destruct when they get close to him. However, Donkey Kong punched them back into the hatch, where they exploded and destroyed that area.

Despite the damages done to the Devil Transformer, Porky remained persistent in fighting the Smashers. The Smashers fought back with all they've got, dealing massive damage to the giant robot and slowly wearing it down. Eventually, both Master Hand and Crazy Hand performed a combo attack of punching the giant robot rapidly nonstop together. They then grabbed hold of each other and shot forward at a fast speed. "DRAGON PUNCH!"

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Together, they punched the Devil Transformer with such force that its legs were torn off from the ice encasing them, and the entire thing fell backwards, crashing onto an amusement park haunted house and a roller coaster track. Porky and his secretary were both tossed around in the cockpit when the robot was constantly getting punched.

Dust filled the air as the giant robot made its powerful and violent landing. When it was clear, the Smashers got a good view of the Devil Transformer leaning on the wreckage of the roller coaster track and the haunted mansion, badly damaged and short-circuiting. Porky and his secretary were seen unconscious inside the cockpit.

"Phew… I'm hurting all over…" said Master Hand while shaking himself, "but at least it wasn't without worth!"

The Smashers continued to watch in silence at the fallen robot, but then Mario smiled and said out loud, "We did-a eet! We did-a eet! We won!"

The others followed suit and cheered equally loudly. "ALL RIGHT! WE DID IT! WE WON! WE DEFEATED PORKY! HOORAY! THE NEGATIVITIES HAS FALLEN!"

The Gamfax, which was still embedded onto the chest of the Devil Transformer, glowed brightly and looked around, and then it said, "We are disappointed. We are furious. We hate everything. We are Gamfax."

* * *

"After the death of his parents in an elevator accident, Porky inherited their properties and became the chairman of New Pork City," said Ai, reading about Porky's background. "However, it was discovered that he intentionally rigged the elevator to cause their demise. He killed his own parents...!"

Needless to say, such a horrifying act of killing one's own parents shocked the other idols to no end. "How... How could he?!" said Junko in disbelief as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"That monster! Even delinquents wouldn't do this sort of terrible thing!" said Saki, shaking her fist angrily.

"At least he got what he deserved in the end," said Yuugiri, also not liking what she heard.

"So... did the Smashers become heroes again after this?" Lily asked Ai.

Ai looked through the article but didn't see anything on the Smashers being pardoned for their crimes against Alias Lobby after taking down the Negativities. However, after a bit more searching, she eventually found what she was looking for. "Smashers crime pardoned after taking down Rebel Army..."

* * *

 **GAMFAX II: SOLID SNAKE**

Forming a ball of fire in between his hands, Mario shouted at Wario, "Wario! Use your gas!"

"That's a first coming from you!" Wario said in surprise.

"Aim it at da fireball!" Mario told him. "Here I go!" Pointing forth both his hands, he unleashed a relatively large fireball into the air.

"Ha! Fire and fart! What a great mixture!" Wario ran towards the fireball a bit before turning around and aiming his derriere at it, and then he cut the cheese loudly.

A large amount of brown gas shot out from his rear end and into the the fireball. This caused the fireball to be pushed towards the partially frozen Metal Gear D, not to mention receiving an increase in size and speed. The large fireball collided with the Metal Gear and resulted in a fiery explosion, but the bipedal machine was seen still standing in one piece after the explosion cleared away.

The ice it was partially frozen in had melted, obviously, and there was now water visible on its surface. Pikachu and Pichu saw that it was their turn to attack, so together, they used Zap Cannon, a move in which they fired large electric balls. The projectiles struck D and electrocuted it badly both from the outside and the inside. General Morden, leader of the Rebel Army, screamed in pain from the electrocution, as he was piloting the mech from the inside.

The Smashers continued to assault Metal Gear D, and eventually, Captain Falcon ended the fight by attacking with Falcon Double Punch. His dual fiery fists came in contact with the large machine hard, sending it flying across the room and hitting a wall hard.

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Metal Gear D collapsed onto the floor with its front part more or less completely destroyed, thus revealing its interior. The cockpit was destroyed as well, so Morden was seen reclining unconsciously on his seat.

While the Smashers battled General Morden, Snake was having his own battle against Big Boss, a famous soldier who defected to the Rebel Army's side in order to overthrow the World Government. Snake had also learned that he was in fact a clone created from Big Boss's DNA. Despite Snake basically being his son, Big Boss had no feelings for him and was currently trying to kill him.

Overpowered by Big Boss, Snake ran into a room and hid behind some crates. He also had no weapons with him, with made the situation even worse. "Perhaps I can find myself a weapon here?" he thought, and he began searching through some of the crates. In the end, all he found was a spray can. "What can I do with this…?" Then he saw the lighter he had with him, and something came to his mind.

Outside, Big Boss was in front of the door and slowly approaching it. "Come out of there, Snake! Showtime is over for you!"

Suddenly, the door swung opened, and Snake came out and held up both the lighter and the spray can. After lighting the lighter, he pressed the spray can to shoot out some sort of gas that touched the fire from behind. This combination resulted in a makeshift flamethrower.

Big Boss was taken by surprise and had no time to dodge it. The fire first reached his face and soon burned him all over the body. Big Boss screamed in agony and thrashed around as the fire burned up his skin. "GAAAAAAAAAH! SNAKE! YAAAAAAAAA!"

Snake continued watching the "dancing flame" as it moved backwards and towards some oil drums.

"SNAKE! IT'S NOT OVER YET! NOT OVER YET!" Big Boss screamed. "GAAAAAAA!"

When he got near the oil drums, the heat and ember released from the fire touched them and resulted in an explosion.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Snake hid back into the room to shield himself from the explosion, which set off the fire alarm, so the ceiling's sprinkler activated and slowly put out the fire before it spread out too much.

Snake could see a burned mass at where the oil drums originally were, but he didn't bother to go over to check to see if Big Boss was still alive. After all, who can survive an accident like that? Snake thought to himself silently in his head about all that happened. He killed his own father…

* * *

"After taking down the Rebel Army and exposing the super soldier Big Boss as a traitor, the Smashers are deemed worthy of having their bounties removed from them," said Ai, reading from the news article she found. "And so, they were pardoned for their crimes and are once again free people, no longer having to live in fear of persecution."

"Wow! That's great for them!" said Sakura, feeling glad for the Smashers.

"Woohoo! Great job for them! I really like these guys now!" said Saki, looking excited. "Got anymore awesome stuff about them? I really want to see more!"

"Shouldn't this be enough? We already have a clear view on them already!" Ai told her, looking a bit frustrated. However, when she saw that Saki was looking at her with sparkling eyes and a large smile that made her look adorable, the former felt like she couldn't turn her down. "Fine... I'll see if there's anything else interesting..."

She eventually found one, and it was considered rather recent. "Smashers put a stop to True Fans..."

* * *

 **TRUE FANS**

After entering the plane, Fox, Falco, and Snake engaged the three corrupted soldiers in there, and because the latter had military training, they managed to put up a bit of a fight against the Smashers. However, the Smashers eventually overcame their foes and knocked them out, and then Falco ran towards the cockpit to gain control of the plane.

The Green King took out a gun to shoot Falco, but the latter pushed him out of the way before he had the chance to fire and then went for the pilot. Snake grabbed the Green King by the collar and angrily said to him, "Stop this madness at once! What you're planning to do is nothing short of mass genocide! You're going to end up killing more than just the person you're after!"

"Seriously? All this over a video game?" Fox asked in disbelief. "Are you seriously going to lay waste to an entire city and kill millions of people just because someone didn't make video games the way you like?!"

"I will tell the citizens to flee the city first, or else I will kill them all, because by not agreeing with what I said about what the creator did, they are all evil and thus deserve to die!" replied the Green King.

"You're out of your mind! What has gotten into you?! I can understand why you want to kill someone if he did things like killing your loved ones! All he did was make games that don't suit your taste, and you're killing him with a nuke for this?!" Snake said to him angrily.

"People like you will never understand! You will never understand the pain of not getting characters we want playable, characters we love getting cut in new installments, adding characters nobody asked for, certain series not getting enough representation, and addition of contents from games we despise!" the Green King angrily shouted at him. "THAT MAN DARE DO ALL THOSE THINGS! HE IS THE DEVIL! ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT MIND WOULD NEVER MAKE THOSE ABOMINABLE DECISIONS AND INSTEAD GIVE HIS CUSTOMERS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THEY WANT! SOMEONE LIKE HIM IS NOT FIT TO LIVE! WITH HIS DEATH, THE SMASH BROTHERS SERIES WILL THEN BE MADE BY SOMEONE ELSE, SOMEONE WHO WILL GIVE FANS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT!"

Snake had heard enough. This was absolutely everything he had to hear to prove that the Green King was a hopeless case of a spoiled child who throws tantrums over everything not going his way. In rage, he flung the Green King into the air in the direction of the missile, and he landed on top of it.

At the same time, Falco was struggling with the pilot. The former slammed the latter's head against a certain button on the control panel with enough force to knock him out. When the button was pressed by his head, the floor underneath the nuclear bomb opened, dropping it off the plane along with the Green King, a sight that shocked Fox and Snake.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed the Green King as he fell along with the bomb while reaching out his hand in vain towards the plane.

The nuclear bomb fell onto a barren islet made entirely out of rock and exploded, completely annihilating it. The resulting explosion, needless to say, incinerated the Green King to nothingness in a matter of seconds.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

At the while, the remaining Smashers were battling the other members of True Fans back on shore, in front of a department store. Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mega Man were teaming up against Pompus Rath, also known as the Fiery Hate, who was fighting them while wearing a robotic suit that left his head exposed.

After receiving several blows from the good guys, the Fiery Hate's suit was damaged badly and short-circuiting. He looked up and angrily glared at his attackers, and Mario said, "Give up! The explosion just-a now implies that da nuclear bomb did not go off in da right-a place, so your plan haz failed! Surrenda at-a once!"

"The world will never become a better place if heroes like us surrender! What makes you think you can make us give up so easily?!" the Fiery Hate angrily asked him.

"For starters, what you're doing is not heroism!" Sonic told him.

"You people are doing all this out of childish selfishness!" added Mega Man.

"And you get innocent people involved in your so-called acts of heroism!" said Pac-Man.

"You do not-a have what-a eet takes to be a real hero!" Mario said to him. "Like what-a we said-a before: a real hero…"

"SILENCE!" interrupted the Fiery Hate at the top of his voice. "YOU ARE ALL SPAWNS OF EVIL WHO ARE DEFENDING EVERYTHING WRONG WITH THE WORLD AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL THOSE SUFFERING OUT THERE WILL NEVER RECEIVE JUSTICE AND HAPPINESS! YOU TEAM UP WITH EVIL CORPORATIONS TO STEP ALL OVER PEOPLE AND STEAL OUR MONEY! YOU SEE TO IT THAT WE ARE LEECHED OF ALL OUR HARD-EARNED MONEY AND RECEIVE USELESS AND TERRIBLE PRODUCTS IN RETURN! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU IS THE DEVIL!"

He then fired energy blasts at them, but they all avoided it by running aside, except for Mega Man, who slid underneath the projectiles and towards him. When the robot got in front of him, he quickly got back up and delivered an uppercut to his abdomen.

"You may not be able to get everything you want in the world," said the Pac-Man as he jumped at the Fiery Hate to kick him in the side of the head.

Sonic curled up into a ball and hit him in the back while continuing what the round being said. "But that doesn't give you the right to use violence to resolve things!"

Mario then jumped at him with his fist on fire. "Sometimes you just have to accept-a reality! Not-a everything will go exactly the way you want-a!"

After the Fiery Hate was knocked back some steps by the plumber, Mario, Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man stood on four sides of him and then ran and jumped together towards him with their fists pulled up.

"SO YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT!" they shouted out loud simultaneously right before punching him in the head from all four sides.

SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

With a badly swollen face, a broken nose, and lots of broken teeth, the Fiery Hate finally fell back and passed out, while the suit continued to short-circuit. At the same time, the rest of the Smashers came out of the department store and saw the Fiery Hate lying on the ground, and they were glad to see that things appeared to have been settled.

Mario, Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man then gave each other a high five while saying, "We did it!"

* * *

"No, seriously... Committing crime over something as mundane as video games..." said Lily, looking unimpressed. "What is this I don't..."

"The world has never been the same since then," said Ai, reading an article about the aftermath of the True Fans incident. "Pompus Rath has since then been hailed as the man who made consumers see the light and fight for their right to obtain what they want. Crime rate has increased ever since, most of them being committed by so-called disciples of Pompus Rath and the Green King in an act that they claim are carrying out those two's wills and saving their world from corporal corruption. To them, true happiness and justice is to be able to do whatever you want and makes you happy..."

Curious about this, Ai looked up more news articles about this sort of crime. What she and the other idols saw disturbed them greatly. There were several news articles talking about crimes in the form of office buildings, stores, and various other kinds of service buildings being torn down, not to mention business owners being killed. All these were committed by people who claimed those people and locations deserve it for not satisfying customers properly.

As for Pompus Rath, the idols learned that he escaped prison with the help of an anthropomorphic warthog named Nerdo, who also agrees with his beliefs. However, Nerdro ended up killing Pompus Rath, thus making himself look like a hero in the process, all this as a part of his plan to gain fame and political power so that he can change the world to his liking.

In the end, however, the Smashers exposed Nerdro as a fraud, and the latter was supposedly killed by one of his enemies, according to the Smashers.

* * *

 **AGE OF MONSTERS**

All of Star Wolf lunged at Nerdro and started beating him up mercilessly, despite some of the Smashers telling them to stop. Nerdro tried to fight back, but he was too tired and injured from the fight with the Smashers that he wasn't able to do so properly. He found himself being thrashed around by Star Wolf, who all had sadistic looks on their faces.

He was eventually knocked onto the floor, and then Wolf got onto his body and pointed his blaster at his face. Smiling evilly, the wolf asked him, "Any last words?"

Instead of showing a look of fear on his face, Nerdro smiled and said, "Go ahead. Do what you want. It makes you feel good, doesn't it? It feels good to be a monster, right? If my death will satisfy you, then so be it. Be my guest! After all, customers are always right!"

"With pleasure!" Wolf happily replied.

"Wolf! Don't!" Captain Falcon cried out to him while reaching out his hand, but he was too late to do anything, as Wolf had pulled the trigger.

BANG!

* * *

After reading all these, the zombie idols took several seconds to absorb everything they've read. They couldn't believe how so many things had happened ever since their deaths. It also scared them to see that the world was now considered more dangerous as before, as people who follow the beliefs of the True Fans continued to exist throughout the world, committing crimes and insisting that their actions are justice.

"Lily doesn't know about you all, but Lily feel as if Lily would be fine if Lily was still dead in the grave, knowing how the state of things are out there currently..." said Lily.

"I... I had no idea how much the world has changed since my time...!" said Junko in disbelief. "What if... What if a True Fan comes to our concert and cause a ruckus because he doesn't like it...?"

"Then I'll just beat him up!" said Saki with confident while clenching her fist. "Anyone who has an issue with us and express it in a rude way won't be getting away with this!"

As they were saying this, Samus entered the room and floated a few inches above the floor over to an unoccupied computer directly behind the one the idols were using. The idols noticed her, so they decided to talk a bit more quietly in fear of her finding out something about them. All the while, Pit was still watching videos on his computer with a large smile on his face, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around him. He didn't hear anything the idols were talking about earlier either.

Sakura could see that her fellow idols were in a somewhat depressed mood from what they've read earlier, except for Tae, who was still on the couch, though this time, she was lying on it horizontally, stretched out across the seat and the arms and looking at the ceiling with a blank stare. Wanting to lighten up the atmosphere, Sakura said, "How about we look up something else? Like... TV shows, movies, brand names, or famous people that we followed before and see what's been changed since?"

"Great idea!" said Lily, sounding excited all of a sudden. "Lily wants to know about Barney the Dinosaur!"

Ai stared at him and said, "You mean that purple dinosaur who hosts a children's TV show...?" Lily nodded in response. "That guy creeps me out."

"Hey! Don't say bad things about Barney! He's a great and loving guy!" Lily said to her, looking a bit mad.

"Everyone has his or her preferences, you know, Ai..." Sakura said to the black-haired girl. Ai grumbled a bit before looking up Barney the Dinosaur.

 _Oh egads, my roast is ruined! But what if... I were to purchase fast food and disguise it as my own cooking? Oh ho ho ho ho... delightfully devilish, Seymour!_

The zombie idols looked up with curiosity upon hearing that rather peculiar phrase. They then realized that it was coming from Samus's computer. Whatever that black, armored person who they find somewhat creepy was looking at had her computer's speaker turned on a bit loud, though the idols decided to shrug it off.

"Okay, here's Barney's Wikipedia page," said Ai, and Lily leaned over to get a better look. "Looks like..."

 _Skinner with his crazy explanations,_  
 _The superintendent's gonna need his medication,_  
 _When he hears Skinner's lame exaggerations,_  
 _There'll be trouble in town tonight!_

The song that played just now made the idols look up again. "What's that person watching...?" Junko wondered while looking at Samus, whose visor was glued to the monitor.

Ignoring what they just heard, the idols continued to look up Barney's Wikipedia page. Lily looked through the article and made a shocking discovery. "His show got cancelled a year after my death?!"

"Allegedly due to accusations of child molestation...?" said Ai with a "what the" face.

"Whoa man... That's serious business..." commented Saki.

Lily kept on reading the page. "Currently lives in Onett, Eagleland, where he is considered by its locales to be a nuisance due to his loud singing and the tendency to hug people without permission..." By the time he was done, he almost felt like crying, "How... How did one of my favorite TV show hosts turned out like this...?" Seeing him on the verge of tears, Yuugiri placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

There was a also a particular photo of Barney on that Wikipedia page, showing him posing for the camera, and in the background, one could see a purple Cadillac Eldorado driven by Wario, heading towards him. The caption underneath the picture said Barney was posing for a photo moments before disaster struck, but it also mentioned that he was fine afterwards.

"Somehow, I'm not too surprised this happened..." said Ai under her breath. She then remembered something. "Oh yeah! I wonder if Sanrio has created..."

 _Good Lord, what is happening in there!?_

 _Aurora borealis?_

 _Uh- aurora borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen!?_

 _Yes!_

Hearing this, Yuugiri asked, "What's aurora borealis?"

"It's a special kind of rainbow found in northern parts of the world," Sakura told her.

Junko looked at Samus again and wondered, "Really... What is he watching?" She thought of walking around to that computer to see things for herself, but for some reason feels embarrassed to do so.

 _Seymour, the house is on fire!_

 _No, mother—it's just the northern lights!_

 _Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say... you steam a good ham._

 _Help! Help!_

"Whoever that person is, has he no concern for his own mother?" said Yuugiri with a look of disapproval on her face after hearing all those.

"Yuugiri, that's just a movie or something... No need to be so serious..." Sakura told her, trying to calm her down.

 _F*** you, Baltimore!_

Hearing a profanity so suddenly caused all the idols, especially Saki to look up in surprise.

 _If you're dumb enough to buy a car this weekend, you're a big enough schmut to come to Big Bill Hell's Cars!_

 _Bad deals! Cars that break down! Thieves!_

 _If you think you're gonna find a bargain at Big Bill's, you can kiss my a**!_

"What in the world...?!" said Ai with a disturbed face as she looked at Samus from her computer.

 _It's our belief that you're such a stupid motherf***er, you'll fall for this bullshit! Guaranteed!_

 _If you find a better deal, shove it up your ugly a**! You heard us right, shove it up your ugly a**!_

Hearing all those made Saki began to chuckle. "I don't know about you guys, but I find this hilarious!"

 _Bring your trade! Bring your title! Bring your wife! We'll f*** her! That's right, we'll f*** your wife!_

Upon hearing this, Junko's face turned red as she placed her hands on her face. "Who would say and even do such a disgraceful thing?!" she said in shock.

 _Because at Big Bill Hell's, you're f***ed 6 ways from Sunday!_

Seriously wanting to know what on earth Samus was watching, Saki walked over to her computer, and Lily followed her.

 _Take a hike, to Big Bill Hell's!_

 _Home of Challenge Pissing! That's right, Challenge Pissing!_

 _How does it work? If you can piss 6 feet in the air straight up, and not get wet, you get no down payment!_

"Is this something people nowadays actually do?" Yuugiri asked Sakura, who had a freaked out expression as she shook her head in response.

 _Don't wait! Don't delay! Don't f*** with us! Or we'll rip your nuts off!_

 _Only at Big Bill Hell's, the only dealer that tells you to f*** off!_

 _Hurry up, a**hole! This event ends the minute after you write us a check, and it better not bounce or you're a dead motherf***er!_

 _Big Bill Hell's Cars, Baltimore's filthiest, and exclusive home of the meanest sons-of-b****es in the state of Maryland!_

 _Guaranteed!_

With that, it was over, and Saki and Lily returned to the others, the former still trying laughing loudly but the latter having an unimpressed look on his face. "What... What were you watching just now...?" Sakura asked them.

"Just a normal-looking car commercial with a crazy narrator..." replied Lily

"Oh boy! That was hilarious! That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!" said Saki, still laughing loudly but also trying to stop. In fact, she was laughing so much she had a hard time standing upright. "Oh man! People nowadays sure can come up with hilarious stuff!"

The idols continued to look up what they want on the internet. "This Gudetama is so cute!" commented Sakura as she watched Ai scroll through a website showcasing merchandises based on one of Sanrio's more recent toy mascots, a sentient egg yolk named Gudetama.

"Yeah, I think it suits you perfectly, considering your egg-shaped head!" joked Saki. Sakura gave her an unimpressed look in response.

Meanwhile, Tae was once again in a different position the couch. Her body was on the floor with both arms sprawled out sideways, facing upwards, while her legs were on the seat.

 _Don't worry, Zelda. The Triforce of Wisdom promises that the king will safe..._

 _Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Hurt me, please!_

 _Oh my!_

 _Ho ho ho!_

 _Father!_

 _Whoa! That's not me!_

 _Yes, I'm the King of Hyrule! I'm having gay sex with Duke Onkled!_

 _Your dong hurts my a**!_

Hearing the aforementioned obscene dialogue, the idols' faces shot up in surprise, and Junko's face turned bright red when she heard the part about having gay sex with someone named Duke Onkled. Looking at Samus, she asked, "What... What is he watching?!" Samus could be seen laughing, and her voice was creepy and even monstrous-sounding. One could say it didn't sound like anything that lives on Tooneria at all.

"You're not allowed to watch porn using public computers, right?!" said Ai, whose face was also deep red from what she heard just now.

 _Your father is a terrible butt f*****!_

 _Yeah, that old the king is gay lord!_

"Um... What's butt f*****?" asked Yuugiri.

"It can't be anything good, so you're better off not knowing..." Lily told her.

"All right! Just what are you watching?!" said Saki as she returned to Samus's computer. Yuugiri was curious as well, so she joined her.

"Saki! Yuugiri! You shouldn't be watching that kind of thing!" Junko cried out to them in embarrassment.

Those two zombies, after heading over to Samus's computer, leaned their head close to see what the black armored being was watching, and the latter didn't seem to mind this.

 _The king's gay!_

 _F*** you! I'm not gay. I just like gay sex!_

 _You're a traitor, your majesty!_

The other zombies remained in the same spot, their faces burning brightly red as did nothing but listen to the entirety of the video. After it was finished, Saki and Yuugiri returned to them, and Ai asked, "What... were you watching...?"

"Nah, just some sort of badly drawn cartoon," replied Saki. "And those sex scenes are censored so that we couoldn't see anything."

"I'm surprised they would make things like these nowadays!" said Yuugiri.

 _ZOMBIE! ZOMBIE! ZOMBIE!_

Hearing someone yelling zombie over and over made all the idols jump in shock. In fact, Tae even got up from her couch, looking around in shock. Lily was so shocked that his heart came bursting out of his chest, constantly beating nonstop. Pit then looked up from his computer and said to them, "Sorry for the shock! My headphone came off! The connection isn't too good... Sorry!" He then plugged the headphone back on properly.

The angel was watching the TV show Legends of the Day After Today, a show about a group of time travelers traveling through time to prevent villains from making changes to history. The particular episode he was watching involved the time travelers going back to the American Civil War to stop a zombie infestation, and the scene earlier was one where one of the protagonists got transformed into a zombie, so another protagonist screamed out loud that word over and over when he saw this.

The idols were still trying to recover from their shock. They thought for a second that someone somehow found out their true identities, which they were trying so hard to keep a secret from the public. Lily hurriedly squeezed his heart back inside his body before anyone else saw it, and he was successful in doing so.

"That... That was close... I thought someone found out about us..." said Sakura.

"You know what? I think I have enough usage of computer for now... I'm calling it a day..." said Ai, looking frustrated. The others agreed to call it a day for now.

 _SnooPING AS usual, I see?_

Again, that came from Samus's computer.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Man! This ended up being the longest chapter in the story so far! I actually had to shorten it quite a bit, because I was going to have the idols look up more Smasher-related articles, but because it's too much work recreating scenes from previous stories, I've decided to cut things short.

So anyway, I think I delivered when I said this chapter will be a nostalgic trip down the memory lane. In order to recreate the scenes from the older stories, I copy and pasted those lines from said stories into this one and then gave them an overhaul. The Day Smash Mansion Exploded underwent the biggest overhaul due to that story being made in script format. It amazes me to see how much my writing style has changed over the years...

The True Fans and Age of Monsters parts are the only one that didn't receive too much overhaul, as those stories already have grammars and writing styles on par with my recent stories.

In case you must know, the old story recreations aren't the actual articles the zombie idols were reading nor are they videos attached to the websites they found. I simply included them for you readers to read and enjoy, whereas what the idols were actually seeing are simply news articles told from the point-of-view of the people who reported this.

I originally wanted to recreate scenes from Magister Saga, Tournament of Wonderful and Great Inventions, and Nostalgia Goggles as well, but in the end, I felt like it was too much work and would drag this chapter for way too long. I still hope you enjoyed the ones you read and had a great time reminiscing some of the great scenes from my past stories!

I also had a lot of fun typing the part after Dark Samus showed up! Some of you might be able to tell that she was watching the infamous Simpsons meme, Steamed Hams, at first. The car commercial filled with profanity is from the video Big Bill Hell's Cars. It's actually a fake commercial made for a fake ad contest back in the early 90's. Lastly, the third video is from the YouTube Poop The King's Secret. It's one of the funniest YTPs I've ever seen! No, there are no explicit imageries there, so you don't have to worry about seeing what you don't wish to see.

The TV show Pit was watching is a parody of Legends of Tomorrow, a TV show about DC superheroes traveling through time to make sure villains do not mess with history. The particular episode he is watching is the second season's fourth episode. Since I've been giving all DC-related media in this series names that are parodic in nature, like Batman being Fatman and Justice League being Sense of Right Alliance, I've decided to do the same with Legends of Tomorrow as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this lengthy chapter and had a good laugh at the latter parts!


	8. Being a Hero

**Chapter 8  
Being a Hero**

* * *

The tour for the next day was a visit to a mountainous area in the countryside. There wasn't much to do there other than looking at the beautiful scenery of untouched nature. Despite this, the tourists still found enjoyment in watching the scenery, playing on the grass, taking pictures, and taking quiet strolls through the place.

The Smashers found themselves arriving at the same place with Franchouchou, not to mention Wario and Waluigi.

Mario and Peach stood at the edge of a cliff, looking at the beautiful scenery consisting of mountains and grassy plains. "What a beautiful scenery!" said Peach. "You don't get to see like this back in Onett! In fact, it's hard to find beautiful untouched nature nowadays!"

"I can't-a agree any better!" said Mario as he took pictures with his digital camera.

As they turned to leave, they saw a man and a woman standing not too far away, hugging each other while looking out the cliff. The man had short, neatly trimmed hair and wore a black suit, while the woman had long, wavy hair and wore a red dress. They both look like middle aged people, as evident of their graying hair and rather wrinkly appearance. Wanting to be nice, Mario greeted them. "Nice scene, don't-a you think so?"

They both turned to him and greeted back. "Nice scene indeed!" said the man. "I can never get tired of this!"

"Such a beautiful place is where the godsend angel will come see us!" said the woman.

Mario and Peach became curious when they heard them say that. "Godsend angel?" said Peach.

The woman nodded. "Yes, our son told us years ago that an angel is going to meet us here in Transylvania! Since my beloved son never lies, we came here and have been waiting for the angel ever since!"

"We don't know what message the angel will give us or if he's even specifically looking for us, but since our beloved son told us this, it means it must be something good, and we do not want to miss that out!" said the man.

Mario and Peach weren't sure whether or not they were serious about they said. "Okay... I hope you meet the angel eventually..." Peach said to them.

"You know? I have da feeling that I am somehow familia with theez story..." Mario whispered to Peach. He tried recalling why he found this familiar. The most be could recall was that it was the child Smashers who told him something like this.

* * *

"Here I go!" Yoshi exclaimed as he somehow encased himself in a large egg before rolling down a steep, grassy slope. He went down at a fast speed and came to a stop by bursting out of the egg once he reached the bottom. Looking back at the top, he called out for those up there to slide down somehow, as it was a fun experience.

Back atop the slope, Link grinned as he placed his shield onto the grass and then stood on top of it. Using it as a sliding board, the Hylian let out an excited cry as he slid down the slope as a fast speed.

Stepping up in front of the slope, Lily raised his arm into the air while saying out loud, "All right! It's my turn! Behold my Rolling Super Star!" In an instant, he tossed himself into the air sideways, and upon hitting the grass, he rolled down it at a fast speed. "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He came to a stop at the bottom and lied down flat on his back, his eyes spinning in circles nonstop from the dizziness. "Weeeeee..."

"Jiggly want to slide!" said Jigglypuff as she curled up herself before rolling down the hill at a fast speed. Unlike Yoshi, she didn't come to a stop after reaching the bottom. In fact, she kept on rolling on and on, seemingly not coming to a stop. The others watched her roll off into the distance until she disappeared from sight beneath a hill.

Suddenly, Luigi could be seen flying slightly into the air from beneath the hill while crying in pain.

* * *

As Saki, Sakura, and Junko traveled together and arrived close to a cliff overlooking a vast plain, they spotted some people who appeared to be bikers, as evident of there being motorcycles with them, hanging out close to it. They saw the bikers competing two people at a time by driving towards the cliff, and one of them would come to a stop sooner than the other. The person who stopped last, usually right next to the cliff, would be cheered on by the others. "Wow! Brings back memories!" said Saki, looking excited. "I used to play this against rival delinquents!"

"Um... If I remember correctly... Isn't that how you died...? You went too far and fell down the cliff...?" Sakura asked her.

"At least I went out with a bang! Can't say I have any regrets!" said Saki, still smiling with excitement despite what Sakura said.

The winner they saw just now, an anthropomorphic wolf, stood on the seat of his bike and loudly proclaimed, "I am the best there is at this game! Anyone think they are brave enough to beat my record? The only way you can win is if you drive off the cliff and survive! I bet nobody has the balls to do this!" All the others agreed and praised him.

In case you want to know, that is one of the same wolves who got beaten up by Isabelle a few chapters back.

Hearing this didn't sit well with Saki. In fact, she looked offended. Pulling up her sleeves, she began heading towards them. "Oh yeah? I'll show you why I'm called the legendary delinquent!"

However, Sakura and Junko grabbed her to stop her. "Don't, Saki! You'll get yourself killed!" Sakura told her. "Even though you're already dead..."

"Don't do this! What if you damage yourself too badly as a result and can't perform tomorrow?!" Junko said to the blonde zombie.

The three then noticed Wario and Waluigi walking over to the wolf who boasted about his record. "Heard ya making this crazy bet," Wario said to him. "You think you're so cool? I'll show you why I'm the best in this sort of thing!"

"Oh, so you dare challenge me? You think you can break my unbreakable record and survive?" the wolf said to him with a smirk. "I'm telling ya, it doesn't count as a win if you die, and we're not holding any responsibility if that happens! Sucks to be you if you end up committing suicide, unless you can find a way to beat my record without literally driving off the cliff!"

"Deal! What's in it for me?" Wario asked him.

The three zombies couldn't believe that someone actually dare challenge the wolf. Saki, however, actually had a look of admire. "Whoa! That guy's hardcore! I think I like him!"

"I think we should be stopping him..." suggested Junko.

After making out a deal with the wolf regarding what he would get if he won, Wario then got a hold of one of the biker's motorcycles, as the wolf told its bike owner to lend it to him. Wario got onto the bike and started its engine, and Waluigi wished him luck. "Here I go!" said Wario before taking off towards the edge at a fast speed.

All eyes were on Wario as he got closer and closer to the edge. They were all expecting him to stop right before it, as they didn't think he had the guts to actually go off the cliff.

Everyone was wrong.

Eyes popped out when they saw Wario drive off the cliff without even slowing down a bit, and despite the motorcycle being airborne, Wario still had the guts to stand up on the seat, look back, and give number three signs on his fingers, not to mention laughing out loud.

When Wario and the bike disappeared beneath the cliff from the onlookers' point of view, everyone rushed over to the edge to see what has become of him. They got there just in time to see witness him and the bike crashing onto the grass below. The bike broke into pieces, though the main body was still mostly intact, while Wario tumbled forward a couple of feet, seemingly passed out on the grass.

Junko screamed in terror with her hands on her mouth, thinking that she witnessed someone dying. Even Saki, who died in such a manner, was shocked that someone would actually have the guts to do this and ending up getting himself killed. The wolf himself was at a lost of words as well. "He actually did it...!" he said.

Waluigi, on the other hand, didn't look shocked at all. In fact, he looked rather proud. "That's the kind of person he is!"

Sakura turned to Waluigi and said to him desperately, "How can you still look so calm?! He's your friend, or brother, or relative, or something...! Shouldn't you be worried about him now?! He could be..."

"Haha! I win!" shouted Wario all of a sudden. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, except for Waluigi, and saw the fat guy standing on the wrecked motorcycle, with his arms thrown into the air, celebrating his victory.

"What?! He's still alive?!" one of the bikers said in surprise.

* * *

Captain Falcon and Bowser were both back in Smash Mansion, reclining on the sofa and watching a movie about a car chase. The car chased ended with the car in lead falling off a cliff and exploding upon hitting the ground below.

After the scene was over, Captain Falcon said to Bowser, "You know, some people think cars exploding when they fall from a huge height is a movie exaggeration and doesn't actually happen in real life. In reality, cars do indeed explode when they fall from a great height, just not all the time, like it is portrayed in movies. Given the correct circumstances, cars can still explode."

"Okay... Nice to learn something, I guess..." replied Bowser with a not-so-impressed look.

* * *

Wario was still celebrating on top of the bike's body when all of a sudden, the latter exploded absolutely without a warning, much to the surprise of everyone. Because it happened so fast, they thought Wario was blown to smithereens by the explosion, but just as they were thinking that, he suddenly fell from the sky and landed face first with a thud behind them. Everyone ran up to the charred Wario and wondered if he was still alive after being caught in an explosion at point blank.

"Eh, he'll be fine," Waluigi told everyone. "If he doesn't feel like dying, he won't die."

Dr. Mario then showed up and walked up to Wario's body. Taking out a stethoscope from underneath his coat, he used it to check his pulse. He then took out a notebook and scribbled some stuff on it before taking out a plastic bag containing some pills and setting it and the note he just written in front of him. "Take this before you go to bed, and you should be up on your feet by tomorrow morning, just in time for your performance," he told Wario. "Though knowing your insane stamina, you're likely to be up on your feet by tonight." He then got up and left as suddenly as he showed up.

Everyone watched as Dr. Mario left the scene, and then they turned back to look at Wario, who suddenly raised his hand towards the wolf and said to him without lifting his head, "I win... Pay up!"

* * *

In another part of the county, Ridley, Samus, and Piranha were hanging out at a village in the countryside, taking a stroll through the place while enjoying the beautiful sight of nature and watching the villagers going about with their daily business.

"Feels good to be able to experience peace like this again, right?" Ridley said to his two companions without looking at them, and they nodded in agreement. "After chaos went down in our world, it's bloodshed and madness all over the place. You can't really find anywhere safe again... I sort of feel bad for the people left behind there, but is there really anything we can do?"

Samus and Piranha felt bad for the people left behind in their world as well, but indeed, there was nothing they could do. As Ridley said before, they didn't actually have anyone they could call friend, so in the end, they didn't bring anyone along.

Stopping on a bridge situated above a river, the trio leaned against the railing and looked at the flow of the stream going up. "Do you think we made the right choice?" Ridley asked those two. "I mean, it's obvious that escaping a place you don't like is normal, but do you think we're selfish for leaving just like that without trying to do some good there first?"

Samus and Piranha didn't know what to reply and simply remained silent. Plus, they can't talk.

"I do wish there was something we could've done," said Ridley, feeling guilty. "Honestly, I don't know if we would succeed... Given that our problem is global scale, what can the three of us do? In the long run, our actions will be rendered pointless and go unheard of... We would even be seen as menaces in the end..."

Samus and Piranha nodded in response. Now that there world was ruled by self-righteous people who do nothing but oppress people all day long, their attempts at fixing things would be seen by those so-called rulers as acts of evil and disrupting peace.

There was indeed they could have done...

"Whatever your problem is, cheer up!" said a middle-aged fat guy as he walked across the bridge. The three turned to him, and he said to them in a jolly voice, "I don't know what worries you have, but now that you are in this peaceful place, let all your worries disappear! There's no point in worrying if it won't solve anything! Enjoy the sight here and try out our delicious food! Your worries will disappear! Enjoy life when you still have the opportunity!"

While not the solution to things, the words of this jolly man still made the trio smile, and Ridley thanked him for lightening the mood for them.

All of a sudden, the water in the river created a large splash that soaked all four of them. Screams followed immediately afterwards as people looked and pointed at something that had appeared out of the river. Ridley and his two companions turned around and found themselves looking at a long, orange serpent-like creature that was sticking out of the water, hissing loudly and menacingly.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" screamed a random person.

Despite everyone screaming his or her head off, the Ridley trio wasn't daunted in whatever way. Their expressions could be described as being expressionless, and it was true that Samus and Piranha didn't have visible expressions whatsoever.

Turning to the fat guy while pointing at the serpent with his thumb, Ridley asked him, "Is that normal wildlife here?" The fat guy, who had a look of fear on his face, shook his head in response and even said he had never seen or heard of something like this before. "I see..."

The serpent glared at the trio and let out another hiss before bringing down its head towards them with its mouth wide open. The fat guy yelled for them to run while running off the bridge himself. Instead of running, Samus raised her arm cannon and, in an instant, fired a blast of blue energy into the serpent's mouth, causing the monster to recoil and cry in pain.

All of a sudden, a large gash appeared on the throat of the serpent, while Ridley was seen flying in the air behind it, even though he was just on the bridge a second ago. It was also noteworthy that what appeared to be purple fire was burning on his hand, but it soon disappeared.

The serpent's eye turned dim as the monster fell towards the bridge, but it came to a sudden stop when Ridley's tail extended in its direction and impaled it through the head. Ridley then swung his tail in the direction of dry ground to throw the now dead serpent onto it so that it doesn't destroy the bridge.

All the people in the area gathered around the dead serpent in awe. Not only were they in awe at the appearance of this never-seen-before creature, they were also in awe at how Ridley easily killed it with no effort and in a matter of seconds. When he made his landing, the people clapped their hands and cheered for him. "Okay, okay... You can stop it... It's embarrassing... But thanks anyway..." said Ridley, looking embarrassed while motioning for the people to stop.

"How did you do that? That was wickedly awesome!" a little boy said to him.

"That was nothing, really..." Ridley told him. "Just a little trick I've taught myself." Despite him insisting that he didn't want to receive so much praise, the people continued to praise him nonstop.

* * *

 **LINE CONVERSATION**

 **Super Mario:** Hey Ness.

 **Okay Ness:** 'sup, Mario.

 **Super Mario:** Did-a you tell me once about-a an enemy you've fought saying he sent-a heez parents to Transylvania to meet an angel?

 **Okay Ness:** Hmmm... Can't quite remember. I'll ask Young Link. Wait a sec...

 _A few seconds later_

 **Okay Ness:** Yeah, he said we fought a guy named Bytyan from P.U.R.I.S.T. who said that.

 **Super Mario:** Yes.

 **Okay Ness:** What about it?

 **Super Mario:** We met a married couple saying their son sent-a them here to wait for an angel a few years back. I wuz wondering if they're the same one...

 **Okay Ness:** Lolwut?

 **Super Mario:** I know, right?

 **Okay Ness:** Did you tell them that their son is a douchebag doing this just to get rid of them? And that he's a criminal currently behind bars?

 **Super Mario:** No.

 **Okay Ness:** Maybe you should. I can't believe they're still waiting in Transylvania...

 **Super Mario:** I will eef I meet-a them again.

* * *

Nighttime had once again fallen at the Hunter Prince and Dracula Hotel. News of what Ridley did spread throughout the place in a short amount of time. The winged creature, Ganondorf, Link, Mario, and Luigi were currently seated in the lobby, chatting with each other about what happened.

"Wow! You're strong!" commented Mario after hearing Ridley's story of how he took out that serpent.

"Would love to see you in action!" said Link with interest.

"We should have a spar some time, you know," Ganondorf said to Ridley.

"I don't mind, though I'm not exactly the biggest fan of violence," said Ridley. "I learned how to fight in order to defend myself and to protect others, not to show off. Even so, I don't consider myself to be lacking in skill, technique, and haki."

"So you know haki as well?" Link asked him, sounding intrigued.

Ridley nodded. "Yeah, that's one thing I've looked up when I first came here. Haki, or aura, is a thing back in my world too, though it doesn't seem be as widespread compared to this world. Honestly, it seems that the people of this world are more powerful in general compared to mines."

"Maybe that is why your world fell apart the way it did..." said Luigi. "No offense, mind you..."

"None taken, and I do agree that may be a reason," Ridley said to him. "It's good to know that there are still sane people in this world who are willing to fight for what is actually right, because with the power level this world possess, I can see things actually being much worse than mines if things go down the wrong path..."

"Have you ever thought-a about going back and doing something about-a eet?" Mario asked him.

Ridley lowered his head, looking a bit sad. "I don't know if it can still be saved... It's already reached the point of no return... And before you ask, I do feel bad for the people there who are currently suffering, but seriously, I have idea where to start or even what to do... Even until now, I still feel like I could've done something to prevent such a tragedy from happening, but I really don't know what I could've done..."

"The past is the past. Perhaps you should just let it go and start a new life here," Ganondorf said to him. "It may sound harsh, but life isn't always sunshine and smiles. Even the strongest person cannot be everywhere and do everything at once. It's perfectly normal to feel helpless and want to give up when you are by yourself trying to face a tough situation."

"Perhaps the best you can do now is try to make a difference here instead," Link suggested the winged creature. "Start a new life, be the hero that you wanted to be but never got the chance to do so! You shouldn't blame yourself for everything that went wrong. Nobody is perfect. Even though we have confidence in our strength as a whole, we still know that we cannot do everything and make the world a better place all by ourselves."

"So cheer up! It's sad about what happened to your world, but you're now in a better place!" Luigi told him.

Ridley looked up with a smile, albeit still looking a bit sad. "Thanks for the comfort, everyone. Perhaps I can indeed make a difference here."

"You're already making a difference! What you did-a by stopping dat serpent from killing people eez a good-a start!" Mario said to him. "Da people like-a you for eet, don't-a they? Keep eet up!"

As they were talking about this, they noticed Franchouchou walking through the place and heading for the exit. Luigi waved at them and called out to them as well. "Going for a walk, girls?"

"We've just finished practicing, but we want to have some free time before we hit the sack," replied Sakura.

"Be careful out in the night! You'll never know what sort of dan..." Before Luigi could finish, Mario covered his mouth.

"Enjoy your walk-a outta there! Wish-a you all a good-a luck in tomorrow's contest too!" Mario said to them.

"We will! Thanks for rooting for us! Please be sure to be there tomorrow!" Sakura happily said to him, and the idols said similar things.

After the idols left, Luigi asked Mario what the deal was about just now. Ganondorf replied instead, saying, "Don't say anything unnecessary that can scare people. Let them enjoy themselves instead!"

The zombie idols went outside the hotel with the intention of taking a stroll through the flower field not too far away. Being zombies, they didn't feel the need to go to sleep at all. They only did so out of habit from when being alive.

They actually finished practicing sooner than intended, as Wario and Waluigi were clamoring for their time to use the conference room so that they could practice for the contest as well. Despite his injuries this afternoon, Wario was already back on his feet as if nothing ever happened to him, which surprised Saki, Sakura, and Junko, as they remember seeing him falling off a cliff and getting caught in an explosion at point blank.

Standing atop of a hill, Saki stretched out her arms and took a deep breath. "Ah! The night air sure is fresh!" she said afterwards.

"Wow! The night sky sure is beautiful!" said Junko as she gazed the starry night sky and the shiny moon. "I haven't really gotten a good look at the night sky since coming here!"

"Lily can see lots of familiar constellations from here!" said Lily, who was lying down on the grass with his limbs sprawled out. Pointing at the sky, he said, "Let's see, that's Ophiucus, that's Hercules, and there's Lyra..."

"Wow! You really do know your constellations!" said Sakura, who was standing next to him and also looking up at the sky. "I can't tell which is which at all..."

"Lily's last name has the word 'star' in it after all!" Lily told her with a smile.

As the girls were enjoying the night sky, Tae was busy picking flowers and eating them.

"About this time tomorrow, we will be performing on stage," Ai reminded everyone as she, too, viewed the night sky.

"Yeah, our first overseas performance," said Saki with enthusiasm. "I can't believe this is happening. In fact, I can't believe we've even got to come oversea!"

"I still have a hard time believing that as well..." said Ai. "I mean... How did Tatsumi forge us passports using nothing but our stage names...? You need real names on passports..."

"Beats me... That guy seems to be able to get anything done..." said Saki. "But still, it's thanks to him that we have this awesome opportunity!"

"Which is why we shouldn't disappoint him!" said Sakura as she walked over to those two. "Let's hope everything goes well tomorrow!"

"Relax, nothing bad will happen, and even if it does, we'll still dance and sing like nothing happened! Remember how we pulled through Saga Rock and Arpino?" Saki reminded her. "This one won't be any different!"

Sakura nodded, knowing that whatever happens tomorrow, they would still be able to pull off their performance and amaze everyone.

After frolicking around for a bit, the idols decided to head to a different location. They decided to head to a nearby patch of trees, a miniature forest. Despite protest from Junko about the potential dangers, Saki insisted that it should be fine and that this was the perfect chance for a bit of adventure. The group headed together to the small forest and took a stroll through it.

They weren't that deep among the trees, so when a car passed by the outside of it, they noticed it. In fact, the car parked a few feet away from the outside of the forest, and this intrigued the zombies. Heading close to the edge of the forest, they looked out from among the trees while hiding behind them to see what it was all about.

The driver stepped out of the car and then took some steps up ahead. Even from their distance, the zombies were able to get a glimpse at that person and recognize who he is. "Lily thinks Lily saw him before..." said Lily.

"You're right... It's the curator of Brans Castle!" pointed out Ai.

Indeed, it was Wallace Berthold who had stepped out of the car and was currently standing a couple of feet in front of it as if he was waiting for someone. The zombies, even though they had their makeups on, wanted to avoid getting seen by him, so they hid behind the trees as much as possible.

"What's he doing here?" asked Junko.

"Look!" said Sakura, pointing at something that was happening next to the curator.

Blue, ghostly flames materialized from thin air next to Wallace, who didn't look surprised at all. The idols watched with wide eyes as the flames gathered together to form one large flame, and when the flame disappeared, a being appeared in place of it.

It was a skeleton wearing a tattered blue cloak, and his hands were wielding a large scythe. Said skeleton didn't appear to have legs and was floating in the air, and more ghostly flames were floating around him.

"Wha... What is that?!" asked Junko in shock at the appearance of the horrific-looking being. The other idols were equally shocked at the appearance of the skeletal being.

Wallace, rather than being intimidated by the appearance of the skeletal being, had a serious expression on his face as he spoke with it. "How goes everything, Death?"

The skeletal being called Death replied, "The army of monsters are ready. The hunger for flesh and battle. They are now waiting for your orders to return to this world, Lord Dracula!"

When the zombies heard what Death referred to Wallace as, their eyes widened even more than before. "Dra... Dracula...?!" said Sakura.

"That curator... is Dracula?!" said Saki in disbelief.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

The plot unfolds! Dracula was hiding in plain sight all along and masquerading as someone who has already showed up in this story! Did that surprise you? Or did you somehow figured it out beforehand?

All right, I'll make it clear now. We're entering the third act of the story, meaning it's coming to an end soon. I never planned for this story to be very long. In fact, it won't be more than 20 chapters. Even so, I have made sure that the climax of the story is as awesome as possible, perhaps even one of the best and most unique finales I've ever made. Seriously, thinking about getting to work on that chapter is making me tremble with excitement! I really do hope you look forward to it!

Also, props to the user jeanymarie99 for bringing up an old reference from Those Who Deserve Beatings! In that story, a villain named Bytyan fought the child Smashers and told them that he hates his parents, so he tricked them into going to Transylvania by telling them that an angel was going to show up there. Seriously, I completely forgot about that part, so thanks a lot to jeanymarie99 for bringing that up! I'll be finding a closure to this, so please wait and see how! Can't believe it took years to finally get to this...


	9. The Battle Under the Moon

Breaking news! Crunchyroll held a contest for the best anime **GIRLS** of 2018, and guess who one of the winners are? A certain crossdressing zombie **BOY**.

...

...

...

Wut...?

 **Chapter 9  
The Battle Under the Moon**

* * *

Previously, Franchouchou made the shocking discovery that Wallace, the curator of Brans Castle, was actually Dracula, or least that was what the skeletal being known as Death referred him to as.

"Is the seal on Castlevania still not broken?" Dracula asked Death.

"Unfortunately no, master," replied the latter. "The accursed Morris Clan placed a seal on it so powerful that it will still take some years for it to become undone. However, with the Mirror of Fate, a gateway between Castlevania and this world will be available. The monsters shall pass through the mirror and into this world to satsify their desire for blood and destruction!"

"Then so be it," said Dracula after letting out a sigh. "I have waited long enough, and I do not wish to wish any longer nor let my monsters wait. We will have to make do with whatever we can."

"Please give us the order, master, and we shall strike," Death said to him. "When shall our army step into this world?"

"Tomorrow night, during the Golden Stag Festival," said Dracula in a straightforward manner.

When Franchouchou heard this, they were shocked beyond words. "He's going to attack tomorrow during the contest?!" said Ai in disbelief.

"How dare he?!" said Saki angrily.

"No! No! No! Why must it be during that time?!" said Sakura in her head. She was hoping that the contest would go smoothly, but now it seemed impossible. She was then reminded of her life being filled with nothing but misfortune. No matter what she wanted to do, things always ended up badly in the end. It was as if she was cursed to live a life filled with bad luck and even let it affect all those around her.

"While the people are deeply enjoying the singings and dancings, the monsters will attack them when they least expect it," continued Dracula. "They will all die doing what they love most!"

"My master, I should let you know that during this afternoon and yesterday, I allowed two monsters to come to this world," Death told him. "However, both those monsters have been slain by the inhabitants here that display tremendous powers."

"I am aware, but that does not matter," said Dracula. "No matter how strong they are, they will be no match for the combined force of an entire army. Furthermore, I have two powerful weapons at my disposal. Let's not forget the power that I possess, one that rivals of the Great Powers of Tooneria!"

"Indeed, no man is an equal for you, Lord Dracula!" Death said to him, praising him.

"Great... Great Powers of Tooneria?" asked Junko, both curious and worried.

"I'm familiar with that term..." said Ai with a worried look. "It refers to the three most powerful factions on this planet: the 7 Warlords, the Espers of Justice, and the 4 Aboinations." She is unaware that there are now 5 Abominations, not four.

"Get the army ready for tomorrow," Dracula told Death. "Our discussion will end now, for I do not wish to be seen speaking with you here, lest people hear us and mess with our plans..." He then shifted his eyes towards the miniature forest the zombie idols were hiding in. "...which is why you should kill the seven people there who have been eavesdropping on us all this time."

"Yes, master," Death said to him while bowing down.

Hearing what Dracula said shocked the zombies. "He saw us?!" gasped Sakura.

"Better run for it!" suggested Saki. Before they could make a move, they saw Death facing their direction and pulling back his scythe. When he swung his scythe, a large energy blade was fired in their direction. Acting on instinct, the zombies ducked down, and the blade went over their heads safely, though the trees around them were more or less all cut down. The size of the blade was a large one. When they stood back up, they looked around in shock at how much damage the projectile had done.

Death then floated towards them, grabbing their attentions. The zombies backed away, looking scared, though Saki mustered up her courage and said to the grim reaper, "Don't you dare come a step closer! I'll kill you!"

"Perplexing... What is the dead doing out here at a time like this?" said Death. "And even disguised as the living, no less..."

The zombies were shocked when they heard him say that. "He... He knows we're zombies?!" said Junko in disbelief.

"Ho... How?!" asked Sakura.

Holding up a fist, Saki angrily said to the grim reaper, "So what if we are zombies? You got a problem with that?! You should be afraid, because beings like us are meant to be scary and dangerous!" Tae growled in response as if agreeing with her.

"Regardless of who you are, I'm afraid I cannot let you live," said Death as he pulled back his scythe once again. Seeing this, the zombies became scared. Sakura and Junko hugged each other tightly while trembling, Ai gritted her teeth nervously as she backed away a few steps, and Lily grabbed hold of Yuugiri with teary eyes, while the latter embraced him and told that it was going to be all right. Saki, probably for the first time in her life, felt seriously scared. She had always boasted about her confidence and bravery, but now, she felt like a helpless bug standing before a giant that was intending to lay harm on her and her friends. Despite this, she tried her best not to show it on her face.

The only one not showing any form of fear was Tae, who was growling angrily at Death like a cornered animal ready to fight back. Without any hesitation, the mindless zombie let out a loud cry as she tossed herself at Death with her arms reached out towards him. "TAE! DON'T!" Sakura cried out to her.

Undaunted by the approaching zombie, Death said to her, "If you have no intention of behaving the way your kind is supposed to be, then you should return to the grave!" The grim reaper was about to swing his scythe at Tae, and he would've succeeded in slicing her in two if it weren't for the fact that he was struck in the face by a mace from the side all of a sudden. The painful blow sent him flying to the side, while Tae landed on the grass, a bit confused as to why she didn't hit her target.

The zombies turned to the side in surprise to see who hit Death, who had recovered from the hit and was also glaring at his attacker. It turned out to be Julius Belmont, who pulled back the spike ball-tipped whip he used to attack the grim reaper to himself. "It's Julius!" pointed out Ai.

Looking at the zombies, Julius said to them loudly, "Run! Now!"

Agreeing that the situation was out of their hands, the zombie turned to run. They also grabbed Tae first and dragged her along, as the mindless zombie was still showing intentions of attacking Death.

After the zombies were seemingly gone from the place, Julius turned to look at Death and also Dracula. "About time you folks showed up!" he said to them. "I was getting really tired of waiting!"

"Julius Belmont! At last, you figured it out!" Dracula said to him. "It took you longer than expected. Either you lost your touch as a Belmont, or perhaps I was too good with my disguise this time. Honestly saying, I'm not sure which answer I prefer."

"Whatever the case is, now that you've finally showed yourself, you're going down!" said Julius while readying his whip.

Readying his scythe, Death said to Dracula, "My lord, allow me to the one to end his life!" Dracula gave him the approval. The grim reaper then charged at Julius and swung his scythe, and the latter swung his whip in response. Even though the whip should've been cut by the scythe, the former managed to clash against the latter's blade as if it was made of metal, and both weapons were repelled from each other.

Julius closed in on Death, attacking the latter with his whip nonstop, and the latter moved his scythe around defensively to block each hit. Eventually, the latter flew to a safer distance before summoning miniature scythes all around himself that he commanded to fly at Julius. Julius swung his whip in front of himself at a fast speed to create a makeshift fan, and the mini scythes bounced off it harmlessly.

Julius stopped what he was doing and took out an x-shaped object to throw at the grim reaper. Death moved out of its way and then charged at Julius to attack with his scythe again. Julius responded by attacking his with whip, to which the grim reaper blocked with his scythe. Suddenly, Death was struck from behind by the x-shaped object, which flew back to Julius. In fact, it went right through the grim reaper's body, thus dealing major damage to him. Julius caught the object afterwards.

"All right! He got that monster!" exclaimed Saki. The zombie idols, despite being told to run, didn't actually run far. The merely ran to a nearby slope and hid slightly below it so that only their heads could be seen peeking out. Despite knowing the danger, they couldn't help but be curious about how things would unfold.

"You can do it!" Lily cheered loudly.

Hearing this, Julius turned his eyes to them and said in frustration, "I thought I told them to run!"

Death, despite the fatal attack, was still alive. Holding his hand over his wound, the grim reaper floated away and said in anger, "You shall pay for your insolence! Gaibon! Slogra! Get him!"

Julius got into a defensive stance to take on whatever was going to be thrown at him. Suddenly sensing impending danger, he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting crushed by a blue demon with wings underneath his arms Gaibon, when the latter from the sky. The demon let out a loud screech in his direction while spreading out his winged arms.

As Julius prepared to face the demon, he felt the presence of another person at the scene. Turning to the side, he saw a creature resembling a wingless bird armed with a spear, Slogra, approaching him.

Gaibon suddenly shot a blast of fire at Julius, who jumped away to avoid it. When he landed, he was greeted with Slogra rushing towards him to impale him with his spear, but the former easily repelled him with a single swing of his whip.

Gaibon spread out his winged arms and dashed at Julius at a fast speed. Julius got out of the way, and Gaibon flew into the air, where he did a u-turn, to go back to Julius.

At the same time, Slogra ran at Julius, once again attempting to impale him with his spear. Julius swung his whip at Slogra, wrapping it around his spear, and then with a powerful yank, he pulled the bird-like demon into the air and hurled him at Gaidon. The two demons collided with each other and tumbled onto the ground.

"Are the both of you supposed to be pushovers or what?" said Julius, not impressed with the challenge he was facing.

The demons got back up and glared at him. They let out a cry of anger, but was then shot in the back of their heads by something and knocked forward onto the grass. This sudden turn of events surprised everyone, and all looked up to see a woman dressed in black tights approaching.

"I thought it was pretty noisy here, so I decided to come over to see what all the ruckus is about," said the woman, who turned out to be Bayonetta.

Seeing her, Lily said in surprise, "She's that woman who caught my notebook on the day we arrived here!"

"An umbra witch... Interesting!" said Dracula, looking at the approaching woman.

Standing behind the two fallen demons, Bayonetta looked at Julius, Dracula, and Death, and said, "Look at what we have here! I can't say I know what the situation exactly is, but something tells me that I won't like it if I miss this out!" She then looked specifically at Dracula and Death. "My past experiences tell me that you are the ones to blame for this mess!"

"You dare interfere with us? You shall pay with your life!" Death angrily said to her.

"I'm sure I can pay you with some other things!" Bayonetta said to him with a wink.

Sloghra and Gaibon got back up again, and they turned around to face the umbra witch in anger. They lunged at her, but she suddenly dissipated into a swarm of bats that went behind them and merged together to become a person again. While the two demons were still surprised by this, Bayonetta pressed her guns against the back of their heads and pulled the triggers. Due to firing at point blank with more powerful shots than before, the magical bullets fired from her guns blew big holes in the heads of the demons.

The both fell onto the grass dead, and their bodies slowly got consumed by blue fire that appeared out of nowhere until they were gone. Blowing away the smoke away from the turrets of her guns, Bayonetta turned back to the aforementioned three and said, "So... who's next?"

The zombie idols were surprised by what they saw. "Wow! She's good!" exclaimed Saki.

"Who... Who is she...?!" wondered Junko.

Bayonetta walked up next to Julius and said to him, "Always nice to meet a famous person, Mister Belmont!"

"Thanks for the help, I guess..." Julius said to her, feeling unsure about her presence.

While glaring angrily at the two, Death asked Dracula, "My lord! What are your next orders ?"

Smirking, Dracula said, "Perhaps it's time I show them my secret weapon! But first..." Fire then appeared around Dracula, consuming him entirely. When the fire disappeared, he had developed a new appearance. Standing about two meters tall, Dracula now had pale skin accompanied by white hair and a matching color goatee, and his wore a fancy-looking suit mostly covered by a black cape.

The zombie idols widened their eyes in shock at his change of appearance, and Ai said, "That's the same look as the portrait we saw at the castle!"

"Finally decided to shed your disguise, eh?" Julius said to him. "And what's this secret weapon I'm hearing?"

"You shall see," said Dracula with an evil smile. He then looked at Death and signaled for him to do something with a nod.

Death understood well what his master wanted him to do, so the grim reaper held out his scythe while glowing in bright blue light. In doing so, two magic circles appeared below him in the air, and then two people stepped out from them. When Julius saw who they were, his eyes widened in shock. "I... I knew it!"

Standing before the magic circles created by Death were none other than Simon and Richter, both of them with their eyes glowing brightly in red and with serious expressions on their faces.

The zombie idols were shocked to see this as well. They recognized Richter due to having seen his portrait at Brans Castle, though not Simon, until Yuugiri pointed at out that it was likely him due to his body being stolen from the grave.

"I knew it! They were resurrected as zombies!" said Saki.

"You brought them back to life as undeads!" Julius said to Dracula angrily while narrowing his eyes. "How dare you use such foul sorcery?! Raising the dead to be part of your army of evil!"

"Undeads? That's where you are wrong," Dracula said with a smirk. "You see, Simon and Richter standing before you are not undeads. They are in fact brought back to life as complete humans, in the flesh! Blood, beating hearts, and all!"

Julius widened his eyes in shock upon hearing this. "What?! You used full resurrection?! But that's a powerful magic with high risks!"

The zombies were equally when they heard this. "They're... They're brought back to life... as humans...?!" said Sakura in disbelief.

"Indeed, but does that matter to me, one with enough magical power to withstand the risks?" Dracula said to Julius. "Resurrection magic is indeed a powerful magic that cannot be accomplish by normal means. Trust me; I had to use up a lot power to get this done, and there were many requirements necessary beforehand."

"You know, you could've resurrected your loved ones and be reunited with them if you were willing to go through the trouble of doing all this," Julius said to him.

Dracula's expression became a bit sad. "Indeed, I could've done that, but unfortunately, the bodies of my beloved Lisa was no longer in the condition to be restored... Furthermore, would she be glad to see the kind of person I have become?"

"You brought this on yourself! Your dead wife would never like the kind of person you have become!" Julius angrily said to him.

"And whose fault do you think it is?!" Dracula said to him, busting into rage all of a sudden. "The wretched humans killed her, believing her to be a witch and an entity of evil, all because of their barbaric minds not being able to accept science!"

"I do admit that I feel bad for her, but you could've just killed the people responsible rather than letting your anger loose on everyone!" Julius told him.

"If you do not get rid of everything and its root, the evil will remain and continue to spread!" said Dracula.

"And what does that make you? You're saying you're the holy one?" Julius angrily said to him.

"I threw away my humanity and all that is holy within me, but even I still get disgusted by the greater evil that mortals possess!" said Dracula. "But enough of that! Now that you have laid your eyes on your revived ancestors, this is a good time to compare and see if you truly live up to the name of the Belmont!" Pointing his hand at Julius and Bayonetta, he told Simon and Richter to attack them.

"Yes, master," they both said in a monotonous voice, and then they dashed at those two with their whips ready.

Julius readied his whip to take on the two mind-controlled demon hunters, and so did Bayonetta. "I'm not one to get into family quarrels, though I think I'll make an exception for this one," said the umbra witch.

"Sorry for this... I'll make up for this somehow afterwards," Julius said to him

"You're a fine gentleman, aren't you?" Bayonetta said to him with a wink and a smile.

Simon swung his whip at Julius, who did the same. The spike ball at the tips of their whips clashed with each other hard, resulting in a shockwave, before bouncing back to each other. Richter went after Bayonetta instead and attacked with his whip. The latter leaped back to avoid it and then fired rapidly from her gun, but the former swung his whip at a fast speed to deflect the shots.

Julius and Simon continued to strike their whips against each other's weapon, neither side showing the upper hand. Eventually, their whips got tangled up with each other, and they began pulling back and forth. As they were pulling against each other, Simon took out an x-shaped weapon and flung it at Julius. The latter stepped to the side to let it go past him safely, but knowing full well that it was actually a boomerang-based weapon, he ducked underneath it when it came flying back to him, and Simon easily caught it.

Simon, still with his whip tangled up with Julius's, ran towards his descendant without a warning and threw a punch to his face, knocking him back onto the ground and also making him lose it grip on the handle of his whip. Now holding an extra long whip, Simon attempted to attack Julius with it, but the latter rolled away fast and then ran.

Nearby, Bayonett continued to duel Richter. Now matter how much the former fired, the latter was able to swiftly dodge all the shots both by running and performing acrobatic jumps. He would use his whip to deflect the shots occasionally. Richter then began throwing knives at Bayonetta, who easily dodged them by stepping side to side.

After throwing a couple of knives, Richter ran towards her with his whip pulled back, ready to take a swing at her. Bayonetta responded by a summoning a large black fist out of a portal that popped out in front of him to punch him. Richter managed to see it coming in time and jumped over it, performing a dive kick while in air to hit Bayonetta from above. The umbra witch responded in time by bringing up one arm to block the kick.

Landing in front of Bayonetta, Richter attempted multiple times so stab her with his knife, and the umbra witch constantly blocked each of the hits with her guns. Both sides battled furiously up close until Bayonetta summoned another giant fist that punched Richter backwards onto the grass.

However, the moment Richter was punched back, he flung a bottle of blue water right in front of Bayonetta. It erupted into a pillar of blue fire blew Bayonetta backwards. Fortunately, she wasn't caught entirely in the fire, so she didn't actually suffer any form of damage until then getting singed a bit.

The pillar of fire was still burning when Richter dashed through it unharmed somehow and swung his knife at Bayonetta. She was caught off guard by this and slashed across the abdomen. However, she endured the wound and then swung her leg at Richter to knock him to the side.

Meanwhile, Simon was using his lengthened whip to hit Julius, who kept on dodging the attacks. He pulled out multiple x-shaped boomerangs to throw at Simon, but the latter easily deflected them with his whip. When Simon swung it at him again, Julius caught the handle and to reclaim his whip and try to separate it from Simon's.

This time, it was Julius's turn to run up to Simon while they were still doing this, and he attacked with a roundhouse kick to the latter's head, knocking him onto the grass. He then used this opportunity to separate both the whips by hand. Simon got back up and lunged him at Julius before he could respond, pinning him to the ground and punching him in the face over and over.

Bayonetta was distracted by the sight of Julius being pummeled mercilessly by Simon, and this gave Richter the opportunity to strike her hard in the face with his whip, knocking her back onto the grass. He then jumped onto her, pinning her down and attempting to stab her in the throat with his knife, but she did her best to keep his hands away from there.

The zombie idols saw this and were horrified. "We have to do something!" suggested Sakura.

"But what can we do? We can't fight!" Junko reminded her.

"I can!" said Saki as she stood up while pulling up her sleeves. "Time to relive my good, old delinquent days!"

However, the others grabbed her and refrained her from doing so. "Stop! Those opponents aren't the kind you've faced when you were alive!" Ai told her.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Stand here and let them die?!" Saki asked her.

As Simon continued to punch Julius, something swooped down from the air all of a sudden, crashing into the former and sending him onto the grass. The thing that hit Simon then charged straight at Richter, knocking him off Bayonetta. Julius and Bayonetta stood back up, panting heavily and relieved that they were safe for now, and as they were wondering who saved them, Ridley suddenly landed in the midst of them. "You!" Bayonetta said in surprise when she saw him. She had seen him a couple of times back at the hotel, though they didn't interact with each other at all.

"It's that... that... strange bird from the hotel!" pointed out Lily.

Simon and Richter stood back up and glared at Ridley, and Dracula and Death were both surprised by the appearance of this newcomer. "Who are you?!" Death asked the winged creature.

"Someone who doesn't tolerate what is going on!" Ridley replied in an intimidating tone.

Instantly perceiving the newcomer as a threat, Simon and Richter charged straight at Ridley. When they swung their whips at him, the latter swung his extended at them. The former two's whips wrapped around Ridley's tail, but then the winged creature swung his tail high into the air, pulling them both along.

Taking off into the air, Ridley soared up quite a distance, bringing with him the two vampire hunters, and then swooped back down. When he was close to the ground, he swung his tail onto the grass, slamming them both hard onto it. Their whips loosened from his tail as a result as well.

When those two got back up, they were instantly struck by Ridley when he charged straight at them, hitting them with a clothesline using both hands. Due to the speed he was moving at, both the hunters were sent flying back and landing right in front of Dracula. Coming to a stop, Ridley glared at the villains and said to them, "Surrender now, or face consequences!"

"You fool! You have no idea who you are talking too! You sure the one who should surrender, knowing that you cannot defeat Lord Dracula!" Death angrily said to him. "I shall personally slay you for your insolence!"

The grim reaper charged at Ridley and swing his scythe at him, and the latter brought up his tail to block the blade, a move that surprised Death, as he was expecting his scythe to be able to cut through something as thin as this. "Armament aura?!" Death said in his head in surprise upon realizing the truth behind this.

Ridley pushed Death back using his tail and then shot a blast of fire from his mouth at him. Acting fast, Death swung his scythe at the incoming fire blast and somehow managed to dissipate it. Death was going to attack him again when Dracula told him to stop. "That would be enough for now! We are retreating! No need to waste your energy when we are going to begin our operation tomorrow!"

Death turned to him and bowed down. "If you say so, master."

"You're not going anywhere!" said Ridley. He was going to make a move when Dracula suddenly swung his arm at him, causing a wall of fire to appear before him, thus separating him from the villains.

"Enjoy the Golden Stag Festival to the fullest you can tomorrow, because you will all breathe your last while you are still enjoying your music!" said Dracula as blue light appeared around him, Death, and the Belmont members. All four of them then faded out of existence, and then wall of fire disappeared.

Ridley growled in frustration, seeing that the villains had escaped, and then Julius and Bayonetta walked up to him. "You've got skills!" Julius said to him. "Thanks, by the way."

"They got away..." said Ridley.

"I know, but I'll stop his plans regardless," said Julius.

Bayonetta stretched her arms and said, "Well, that was quite a night! Not the outcome I expected, but who's to complain?"

The three then noticed the zombie idols approaching them. "Wow! You guys were awesome!" Saki said to them in excitement. "You really sent them packing!"

"Than... Thank you for saving us!" Sakura said to them while bowing down over and over. "We are in your debt!"

"Thank you very much!" said Lily happily. The other zombies thanked them as well.

"Don't sweat it!" Bayonetta said to them with a wink.

Julius had an unimpressed look, however. "Geez... I told you girls to run... It's too dangerous for you to be here!" The zombie idols had nervous and somewhat guilty looks on their faces, and some of them smile sheepishly as well. None of them were sure what to say in response. "Eh, whatever... It's good to know that you're safe."

"Mister... What... What about the contest tomorrow?" Junko asked him, sounding worried. "We heard Dracula say he's going to send an army of monsters to attack the contest..."

"Yeah, I heard him say that just now," said Julius as he placed his hands on his hips. "I know you girls are going to perform there tomorrow, and if I were you, I'd hate for the contest to be cancelled because of this."

Hearing this, the zombie idols got even more nervous. They traveled all the way here and practiced for so long to participate in the contest, only to hear that it was in danger of being cancelled.

"Actually, we can keep it from getting cancelled," said Ridley, which grabbed the attention of everyone. "All we have to do is the ask the right people for help!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

How do you like the action and fighting in this chapter? Please let me know!

And as most of you probably expected, Simon and Richter have been brought back to life to serve Dracula! But no, they're not zombies. As Dracula said, they are fully resurrected as normal humans.

And did you think I forgot about Bayonetta? I was waiting for this moment to bring her back all along! You'll be seeing more of her again!


	10. It Begins

Some of you might have noticed that I didn't refer to the cross weapons used by the Belmont by that name but instead called them x-shaped objects. Being a Christian, I don't really find using crosses in such manners to be comfortable. I'm okay with other people using it, but as for myself, I want to avoid using it like that, so I intentionally avoided calling them crosses.

BTW, turns out Lily hasn't won the Best Girl Contest yet. He is simply a candidate.

 **Chapter 10  
It Begins...**

* * *

The atmosphere within the conference room was silent but serious. After the encounter with Dracula outside the hotel, Ridley suggested that the Smashers be informed about this so that something could be done regarding the vampire's attack on the Golden Stag Festival the next day. Wanting to plan out what to do, a meeting was arranged in said room.

Present in the room were all the Smashers who came to Transylvania, Palutena, Wario and Waluigi, Bayonetta, Ridley and his two companions, Toor Gyde, and all of Franchouchou, including Kotaro. Obviously, the zombie idols had their makeups on.

Some of them were sitting on chairs, and some were standing around, leaning against walls.

Dracula's plan had just been finished sharing among everyone, so now they were taking their time to absorb everything they heard.

"All right, let's have a quick recap," said Julius, breaking the silence. "Dracula is sending an army of monsters to this world and attack during the Golden Stag Festival. In fact, he is intentionally targeting the contest, as tomorrow night, that place will have the most gathering of people here. However, since Castlevania is still sealed away, which is actually an advantage for us, he will be using the Mirror of Fate as a doorway from the realm the castle was sealed into to allow the monsters to access this place. That's pretty much the gist of it."

"And while I may not be from around here, I think it would still suck for the contest to be cancelled and disappoint everyone," said Ridley, "which is why I suggest that we try to keep Dracula's invasion from happening and don't let anyone know about this."

"Darn right! We've practiced so hard for this contest, so no way am I letting this opportunity slip by just because of some stupid vampire!" said Wario angrily while punching his palm. "If he was here right now, I'd eat a day's worth of garlic and breath into his nostrils!"

"So all we have to do is defeat Dracula and his army of monsters before they get to the contest area and try to keep everyone from finding out this in order to not ruin the show for them, right?" asked Ganondorf. "That should be easy."

"Easy for you to say... I'm not sure if we can really keep any monsters from escaping our grasps..." said Luigi.

"Actually, I have a solution to that," said Julius in response. "A friend of mine knows a spell that can manipulate the Mirror of Fate into making it gain access to an artificial dimension made in the likeliness of the real world. Basically, we get the monsters to enter a virtual reality in the likeliness of where the contest is taking place. That way, we can fight them in that reality without causing collateral damage or getting innocents involved."

"Sounds like a great idea!" said Mario, approving of this idea.

"I'll have to ask that friend for details regarding this magic, and I cannot guarantee that everything will go smoothly," said Julius.

"Is there anything we need to know regarding battling Dracula?" Link asked him. "How about info on types of enemies we should expect?"

"According to notes left behind by my ancestors," said Julius, "you can expect monsters such as giant bats, gorgons, werewolves, skeletal warriors, goblins, undeads, and several other kinds of indescribable terrors."

When the zombie idols heard him mention undeads, they had an uneasy feeling. Being undeads themselves, the thought of seeing their own kind being malicious and eventually getting killed for their actions made them feel that way. Of course, Tae probably didn't understand most of what was said, or at least doesn't care about them. She was sitting silently on a chair next to her companions, seemingly staring into blank space with a sleepy expression.

"As for Dracula himself, if the notes my ancestors left behind are to be believed, then he's likely on the same level as the Great Powers of Tooneria," continued Julius.

Some of the folks present widened their eyes in surprise when they heard this. "He's that powerful?! How are we going to defeat someone like that?! asked Peach.

"Hey, if Roy can take down one of the 7 Warlords by himself, then it shouldn't be too hard for us!" Link reminded her.

"But he was badly wounded, almost getting himself killed..." Zelda reminded him.

They were referring to when Roy battled Crocodile of the 7 Warlords back during the Darkling incident. Crocodile turned his back against the government and served the Darkling King, though he ended up betraying the latter to pursue his own evil agenda. After his defeat at the hands of Roy and having his crimes exposed to the public, he was stripped of his title as a Warlord and then imprisoned.

"And don't forget that some of us survived encounters with Godzilla as well!" continued Link, ignoring her. "Heck, they even beat him the first time!"

What he said surprised all those who weren't part of the Smashers. Junko seemed to be the most shocked when she heard this. "God... Godzilla...?!" Her companions noticed her scared look, but because of the current situation, they decided to ask her later. Nobody else noticed this, however.

"Remind you that our first win against him was only because we managed to free him of the Darkling possessing him," Dr. Mario reminded Link. "He gave us a terrible beating. In fact, we could do nothing against him at all! I was there, so I can testify to this!"

Link was referring to the Darkling incident again, where at one point, some of them had to go to Tokyo to deal with a Dark Reactor that was allowing Darkling to thrive there. It was there that a large amount of Darkling possessed Godzilla, causing him to go on a violent rampage throughout the city, but when the reactor was destroyed, he returned to his senses and returned to sea without causing any more damage. The Smashers had a run in with him and failed to do anything to him due to the massive difference in power level and size.

"And eef I rememba correctly, da second encounta resulted in us retreating with our lives," said Mario. "At-a least that's-a what Fox said..."

This was referring to the Negativities incident, where some of the Smashers went to the S.S. Cargo to protect a special meteorite from the Negativities, but Godzilla showed up to destroy the ship, thus forcing them to retreat.

"Eh, at least it proves we can run into an Abomination and survive to tell the tale... That's good enough," said Link.

"In any case, Dracula shouldn't be underestimated," Julius told everyone. "I highly recommend that you are capable of aura if you want to battle him, especially armament aura."

"Not a problem," said Ganondorf. "Quite a few of us here are skilled with it, be it armament or observation."

Turning to Ganondorf, Waluigi asked, "What are you guys talking about? What aura?"

"It's a power that flows through all living things," Julius explained to him. "Anyone is capable of using aura, which has various different ways of being called, depending on people and region. There are two main types: armament and observation. The former is used for enhancing your offensive and defensive capabilities, thus allowing you to attack with destructive power and defend against dangerous attacks."

"I can provide an example if you want to," said Ganondorf. He then turned to look at Greninja and signaled him with a nod. The frog Pokemon understood what he meant and wasted no time in producing a kunai out of water. In an instant, the Pokemon leaped at Ganondorf, thrusting his kunai at him. The Gerudo responded by bringing up his hand and allowed the sharp weapon to hit his palm. Despite being made of water, the kunai struck Ganondorf's palm as if it was made of steel, but failed to stab through his hand.

The sight of this made the zombie idols and Toor gasp in shock. Wario and Waluigi widened their eyes a bit as well.

Greninja pushed his kunai against Ganondorf's palm as hard as he could, but the Gerudo eventually crushed it his hand. He showed everyone his hand to reveal that there was no wound on it at all. "With armament aura, you don't have to worry about even getting cut by blades," he explained. "You can also transfer it into weapons to increase their power."

"Huh! Nice! I could use something like that!" said Wario.

"Wow! That was cool!" exclaimed Saki. "Can anyone learn it?"

"As long as you're not a machine, you can," Julius told her.

"Huh! Tell that to the Cybertronians!" Link said in his head after hearing that, remembering full well that those mechanical alien life forms were capable of such power.

"And then there's observation aura," continued Julius. "It's used for detecting the presence of people and foreseeing enemy attacks. I've heard of people who mastered observation aura so much that they can see shortly into the future with it!"

"Speaking of observation aura, Daisy seems to have it, doesn't she?" said Peach.

"Right, she does have observation aura," Palutena told her. "That is why she was able to keep up with me in our ping pong match!"

"There's also conqueror's aura," said Mario.

Looking at him, Julius said, "You have to be born with that particular ability, and frankly, I'm not sure if it will be of any help. Perhaps knocking out some of the weaker monsters, but for someone as powerful Dracula, it won't have any use. Anyway, back on topic... Dracula is no pushover, so you better be prepared if you want to fight him."

"By the way, what about your ancestors Simon and Richter?" Yoshi asked him. "You said they were resurrected, right?"

Julius nodded. "Indeed, and both are under Dracula's control. All we have to do is undo the mind control. Honesty saying, if they were resurrected as undeads, I may have to put them down."

Hearing this, the zombie idols felt scared, thinking that Julius was someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill zombies and perhaps even hates them.

"Not saying that you're wrong in doing this, but assuming that even if they are zombies and they still have free will after you undo the brainwashing, do you still have to kill them?" Zelda asked him.

"The actual term you're looking for is revenant," Julius told her. The idols became intrigued when they heard that term. "Revenants refer to undeads that retain their memories of when they are alive and are fully intelligent and sentient. That term has fallen out of use in modern days though, with zombie becoming the commonly used term. Back in the days, people differentiate between revenants and zombies. The latter refers to undeads that are mindless and feral, acting on instinct and living for the sake of feeding.

Hearing this, the idols slowly shifted their eyes to Tae, who had fallen flat on the floor on her front, seemingly asleep. Her behavior also received some "what the" looks from some of the others, but nobody asked anything about it.

"And to answer your question, if they are revenants, I guess that will depend on whether they wish to be put down or not," Julius said to Zelda. "Honestly though, I can't imagine why people would want to live as undeads. They're neither truly dead nor truly alive, and let's not even get started about how their appearances can be repulsive to both themselves and other people."

"What does he know...?" Lily said under his breath with an unimpressed look.

"Da people from Halloween Town seems to be perfectly content with being undeads, though," said Mario.

"Halloween Town is populated by zombies?!" Luigi said to him surprise.

"Actually, the inhabitants of Halloween Town aren't actually undeads," Julius told Mario. "That's what they naturally look like. Sure, some of them look indistinguishable from undeads, but unlike undeads, they are born that way, so they are capable of aging and require daily necessities in order to survive, unlike undeads, which don't age and don't necessarily need to feed, only doing so out of habit. And before you bring up the most well-known inhabitant of that place, Jack Skellington, that's how he was born as well. He's not a skeleton because he died and came back to life like that. He was born a skeleton and came from a long lineage of skeletal beings."

The Smashers visited Halloween Town during the Darkling incident.

"That's... quite strange if you ask me..." commented Dr. Mario. "Unless he has organs, I can't imagine a skeleton being able to live life like normal people..."

"Halloween Town is a place that defies all explanation and logic, so it's best that you don't think too much," Julius told him. "Anyway, back on topic... As for undoing the mind control on my ancestors..."

"I have a solution to that," said Palutena, grabbing everyone's attention. "There's a special water on Skyworld that is designed to cleanse corrupted minds. It can be used to undo the mind control on your ancestors. I will go and get it later."

"Really? That would be helpful! I was thinking of consulting my friend regarding this," Julius said to her.

"I take that your friend is a powerful magician?" Zelda asked him.

Julius looked at her and nodded. "You can say so. He's very familiar with Dracula, so he'll definitely be of a great help to the battle tomorrow."

"All right, then it's decided," said Ganondorf, standing up from his seat. "Tomorrow, we Smashers will deal with Dracula and his army." He then looked at Wario and Waluigi and Franchouchou. "Meanwhile, you folks continue with the contest as if you know nothing. Rest assure that we won't let those monsters interrupt you and have things their way."

"Yeah! That's the Smashers I know!" said Toor, sounding excited. "You guys saved Lycia from a giant monster! I'm sure dealing with Dracula will be nothing to you guys at all! You have all my support in doing this! Even though there's really I can do to help..."

"So... any problems regarding this?" Ganondorf asked everyone.

Mario raised his hand. "I think-a some of us should still be at da contest to ensure nothing goes wrong. Who knows eef any monster could slip away and attack da contest, or eef Dracula will have back-a-up plans."

Palutena nodded in agreement. "Indeed, not all of us should be in that artificial realm. Some should still be in the real world, keeping an eye on potential threats that can still be found there."

"Sounds good to me," said Julius in agreement. "We have to do this operation with the mindset that not everything will go as planned, so backup plans are a must. Some of us will be in the artificial realm to deal with the monsters, while some of you will be at the contest to keep an eye on things. Hopefully, everything will go as planned and none of this has to make it out to the public. I can't imagine how disastrous things will be if that happens..."

"You guys better get your acts together!" said Wario as he stood up and pointed at the Smashers. "I didn't come all the way here just to get our chance to shine ruined! I'll be putting every blame on you folks if the awards cannot make the cut because of this!"

"Right! It'll be on your heads if things go south!" said Waluigi in agreement.

"Are you threatening us...?" Dr. Mario said to them, looking unimpressed.

Ganondorf then turned to Franchouchou and asked them, "So you girls got anything to say?"

The zombie idols looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Ai turned to the Gerudo and said, "Thank you for willing to do something about this. However, if things are too tough to handle, please know that we won't blame you for what happened."

"Hey, don't sweat it! This is nothing different from what we've dealt with in the past!" Link told her. "You can guarantee that we'll win this fight and let you girls continue with your performance!"

"Jiggly! Smashers will beat bad guy!" said Jigglypuff in agreement.

"Thank you very much!" Sakura said to them. "We really appreciate you helping us and everyone attending the contest! We're in debt of you all!" The other zombies thanked them as well. Tae even looked up from lying face first on the floor and made incomprehensible noises, almost as if trying to say thank you.

"All right, then let's hope-a everything goes smoothly tomorrow! We must not let-a Dracula win theez!" said Mario, standing up.

With that, the meeting was over, and everyone began to leave the room. As Kotaro was leaving, Julius went up to him and said to him, "There's something I want to talk to you about. How about we do it in your room?"

Kotaro was curious about what he wanted to talk about, so he gave him an okay to meet in his room.

* * *

As he said he would, Julius went to Kotaro's hotel room. Both were standing in front of each other with crossed arms, sporting serious expressions. "What is it you want to talk about?" the producers asked him in a serious tone.

"First off, I'll let you know that I'm not threatening you nor will I tell anyone else about this," Julius said to him, "so tell me straightforwardly. Those girls... They're revenants, aren't they?"

Kotaro, for some reason, didn't look shocked, despite this secret getting out. "Somehow, I was expecting someone like you to be able to tell this," he said to the vampire hunter.

"The Belmont Clan has learned to use their observation aura in a special way that allows them to detect what you can say evil presences," Julius explained to him. "This was necessary for locating monsters more effectively."

"When did you first notice this?" Kotaro asked him.

"When I ran into them for the first time a few days ago," Julius told him. "My aura instantly point out to me their, for a lack of better terms, unclean aura."

"And here I thought the method I used for resurrecting them would be undetectable by anything," said Kotaro.

"Well, perhaps the Belmont Clan is that special, but even so, I can't guarantee that not everyone cannot detect this," Julius told him. "Are you able to tell me what method you used to resurrect those girls as revenants?" Kotaro, however, remained silent for several seconds. Seeing this, Julius said, "It doesn't seem like you wish to answer, and honestly, I don't really see anything wrong about those girls, so I think I won't press you any further.

"However, you do know you cannot keep this a secret forever, right? As time goes by, people are going to notice that they're not aging. Sooner or later, their identities are going to spill out, and don't even get me started on how some people may recognize them as people they know from when they were still alive."

"I have planned out everything in advance," Kotaro told him. "If I didn't have the confidence, I wouldn't have done all these. Rest assure that I know what I am doing. And trust me when I said I have no ulterior motives other than to give those girls who were robbed of their lives too early a second chance to fulfill their dreams... and also to raise public interest in my homeland."

Julius looked at him for several seconds in silence and then sighed. "Well, I hope you know what you're doing. Since you don't seem to be planning anything sinister, I'll drop this topic and pretend this never happened." As he began to leave, he said, "I can tell that those girls are actually enjoying their current states and happy with their occupation as entertainers. Perhaps they can actually change people's opinions on undeads as a whole... if this secret ever gets out."

"We can only hope," said Kotaro.

"Anyway, rest assure that I'll make sure tomorrow's contest go smoothly so that they won't have to throw their practices down the drain," Julius said to him as he opened the door to leave. "And I won't tell the girls as well, in case this will worry them."

With that, he left the room and closed the door, leaving Kotaro to think about the conversation earlier.

* * *

All seven members of Franchouchou were gathered together in one room, engaged in a conversation. Tae was asleep on one of the beds, snoring somewhat loudly, though the others didn't seem to be annoyed by this.

"We noticed your expression when Godzilla was mentioned," Ai said to Junko. "Is there anything you would like to tell us?"

"You seem really scared of that monster," Saki said to the white-haired zombie. "I mean... most people are afraid of him thanks to the damage he's caused to Japan and several other countries, but your expression seems to be more drastic than others..."

Junko looked down with a said expression and then sighed before saying, "When I was seven, I was actually present in Kyoto when Godzilla attacked that place..."

The others were shocked to hear this. "Really?! That's terrifying!" Sakura said to her.

"Were... Were you all right?" Lily asked Junko.

"Thankfully, my family and I weren't close to where he is during the attack, so we were able to escape in time," replied Junko. "But despite this, it was still a shocking experience... I remember people running for their lives and seeing soldiers and tanks all over the place. We could hear explosions in the distance, and it was so loud that it seems to be close by... And then there's his terrifying roar, not to mention the occasional laser beam that shot across the sky..."

The others could not believe that she had experienced such a shocking event, even if she survived it. Moving close to Junko and placing her hand on her shoulder, Sakura said to her, "It's a good thing you've managed to escape, though. You should be glad! I'm sure it could've been worse."

"Hearing his name again after so long brought chills down my spine... It scared me hearing that after all these years, he is still alive and out there..." said Junko.

"Excuse me, but since I'm new to this era, I'm afraid I do not know of anyone called Godzilla..." said Yuugiri.

"Right, because he didn't exist during your time..." said Ai.

"Basically, a giant monster that first appeared in the early 1950s, and from the sound of it, he's still alive and kicking even after so long," Saki told the courtesan.

"Yeah, and nowadays, he's part of a group people call the 4 Abominations," added Lily. "Basically four super powerful beings that are said to be able to destroy the entire world if they want to. Scary..."

"Well, this world sure has changed in such a... terrifying way," commented Yuugiri when she heard that.

"Oh yeah, I'm just reminded... You think we should start calling ourselves revenants after hearing what Julius said?" suggested Saki, changing the topic all of a sudden.

"That's the first time I'm hearing that..." said Sakura. "I didn't realize they have different words for differentiating types of undeads..." Everyone then looked at the sleeping Tae. "I guess that means Tae is the only real zombie among us..."

"Lily thinks Lily will stick with zombie... Revenant doesn't have a nice ring to it..." said Lily. "Plus, he said revenant has fallen out of use nowadays and people use zombies for everything, so Lily is perfectly fine with being called a zombie rather than a revenant."

"I'm thinking the same too," said Saki. "Revenant simply doesn't sound cool. Zombie all the way!" All the others agreed to this.

"Well, I guess we better be prepared for tomorrow," said Ai, changing the topic. "Regardless of what's going to happen tomorrow night, we should still practice for our presentation. Tomorrow we'll be staying at the hotel all day to practice and then leave for the contest area at around evening."

The other idols agreed. Even though things look grim tomorrow, they were at least relieved to know that Smashers would be making sure that everything goes smoothly. Since this situation wasn't something they could deal with themselves, the best they could do was to be prepared for their performance and hope that everything turns out fine.

With that, they decided to call it a night and be prepared for whatever was in store for them tomorrow.

* * *

Evening of the next day...

Finally, the Golden Stag Festival was starting. Even though there was still a bit of time before the actual contest began, the plaza where the stage was located in was already crowded with thousands of people. The audiences chatted with other with great enthusiasm about what incredible performances they were going to see this year. There were pamphlets letting them know beforehand what performances there would be.

Daisy, being a royalty, was given a special seat way up front, on a beautifully-made throne. While the princess sat on the throne, her Toad escorts stood around her to make sure no harm befell her. The Smashers were also seated way up front, close to where Daisy was.

The ones present there consisted of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Dr. Mario, Zelda, Pit, Palutena, Yoshi, Jigglypuff, and Piranha. They had chosen to stay in the real world to make sure nothing goes wrong with their plan, though some only stayed because they didn't have confidence in joining the fight against Dracula and his army.

"Wow! There's a lot people!" said Peach, looking around.

"People sure are excited about this contest..." said Luigi.

Hearing them, Daisy turned to them and said, "Of course! The power of music cannot be underestimated! This is a special event for all music lovers! Even people who aren't here in person are watching it live at home! You won't believe how much attention this contest attracts people! I'm so excited that I got to attend it in person this year! Can't wait for it to begin!"

It was just as Daisy said. The contest was broadcast live in various parts of the world, and even if it wasn't shown on TV, there were live streams of it on computers.

Because of Franchouchou's participation in this contest, their fans back in Saga, Japan, all had their eyes glued to the television, waiting in anticipation for the show to begin and eventually see their favorite idol group began their performance. They were sure that they were going to pull off a spectacular performance like every time.

Even in Onett, Eagleland, some of the Smashers were already seated in front of the TV, anticipating the start of the contest. "So... you think we'll see our folks?" asked Falco, looking at the television with a bored expression.

"Assuming they sit in a good spot,"said Captain Falcon as he reclined on the sofa with his arms crossed.

"Actually, they're sitting way up front," said Fox as he looked at his smartphone. "I just talked to Mario on LINE. They're already at the plaza, waiting for the contest to begin."

"Ooh! I can't wait for it to start!" said Donkey Kong with enthusiasm. He had a bowl of popcorn in his hands and was also wearing a helmet with cup holders containing banana milkshake that had long straws leading to his mouth.

Looking at the gorilla, Samus said to him, "I didn't know you're such a big fan of music..."

Turning to her, Diddy said, "Donkey actually tried to start a band of his own back in his high school days. Too bad it never took off... That didn't really take away his interest in music, though."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Bowser's Castle located in the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings were all gathered before a large flat screen TV, waiting excitedly for the contest to begin.

Normally, they weren't excited in this sort of thing, but the only reason they were watching it now was because...

"I can't wait for it to start already!" said Larry excitement while bouncing and down on the sofa. "I wanna watch Franchouchou's performance! No. 1 all the way!"

"I can't wait to see my beautiful No. 3 on stage!" said Iggy with excitement. "Her dance moves are so awesome!"

"Ha! No. 2 is where it's at!" said Roy. "She exudes an aura of awesomeness you don't find often in girls! We would definitely get along with each other!"

"No. 6! No. 6! No. 6!" chanted Lemmy over and over while bouncing and balancing on a rubber ball.

"No. 0 is funny! Heheheh! I like her!" said Morton.

"The beauty and gracefulness of No. 4 is unlike anything!" said Ludwig. "There is no other answer than her being the best of the bunch!"

"Oh please! Everyone knows that the maturity and elegance of No. 5 is the only right answer!" Wendy said to him in disagreement.

"All of them are equally awesome!" proclaimed Bowser Jr.

* * *

While things went on at the audience area, lots of things were happening backstage as well. The performers for the contest had all gathered there to get ready for their performances. Some were busy getting dressed and some were still practicing, though some simply wandered around, finding ways to pass time.

None of them were aware of the grim situation that might befall this contest, so they were all cheerful and worrying about how they would perform for the contest instead. Franchouchou, on the other hand, knew full well about what might happen, so they had slightly worried looks on their faces as they watched the performers go about doing their stuff in the waiting and dressing rooms.

The seven idols had already gotten in their outfits specifically made for their performance. Their outfits were yellowish-white dresses made out of shiny texture, and on the back of their dresses were two pairs of wings. The parts facing the front were colored red and blue, but also with some gold tinges, while the back parts were white.

It wasn't wrong to say that their costumes made them look like stereotypical portrayal of angels, just with fancier wings.

"Everyone's so looking forward to this, yet they're unaware of things potentially going south..." said Junko with a worried look while watching all those present in the room.

"Hey, there's no use worrying over this," Saki told her. "The Smashers will definitely do something about this, so we should just relax and concentrate on our performance."

"We'll just go along with whatever happens. I'm sure things will turn out all right," said Yuugiri in agreement.

"I hope so..." said Junko, still looking worried.

Ai looked at a pamphlet she got her hands on and said, "There's a total of ten performances, and we're the last one to go on stage. Lots of new faces here as well... Either they're new or rose to fame after we all died."

Lily went up next to her and looked at the names of some of the performers. "K. Rap and the Kick-Tail Crew, Squid Sisters, Pauline, K.K. Slider and Isabelle, and... Barney the Dinosaur?!" A look of excitement appeared on his face when he saw the last name. "Barney is performing?! Wow! I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, I actually did see him earlier around here..." said Ai. "I'm surprised they actually let him in after what we've read about his child molesting crime..."

"It's been years already! I'm sure people no longer care about that!" Lily said to him. "This is his chance to redeem himself!"

Just then, K. K. Slider and Isabelle appeared before them. "Good to see you all here!" the former said to the zombie idols. "I hope you're ready for your performance!"

"The same to you too!" Sakura cheerfully said to him. "Let us all compete our best, and may the best group win the prize!"

"Remember that it doesn't matter whether or not you win. What matters is that you've performed your best and won the hearts of the people," K. K. Slider told her. "Music isn't to be used for commercialization, but for spreading happiness and also to heal the hearts of people. Good music can turn even the most depressed heart into the most cheerful one!"

"So I hope you all do your best!" Isabelle said to them.

Looking at Isabelle, Ai said to her, "By the way, I didn't know you are performing as well."

"This was actually a last moment decision," Isabelle said to her. "I did sing publicly back in Smashville a couple of times, and the folks there all think I'm a great singer! The mayor suggested that I show off my talents to the world here, and K. K. Slider here agreed as well, so I signed up."

"Indeed, Isabelle has a lovely voice that is sure to win the hearts of people!" agreed K. K. Slider. "I believe she has made the right decision to sign up for this!"

"Then we all look forward to your performance!" Sakura said to them happily.

* * *

As things went on at the plaza, Ganondorf, Link, Dark Pit, Lucario, Greninja, Ridley, the other world's Samus, Ridley, Bayonetta, Julius, and Alucard were standing in a nearby alleyway, watching things unfold out there.

Looking at his watch, Julius said, "The contest should begin in a few minutes."

"We don't know when exactly Dracula will attack, so I will cast the artificial realm when the contest begins," said Alucard. "I will then transport all of us into it, and when the monsters step out of the Mirror of Fate, they will find themselves in that realm. We have about one hour to take them all out before the realm disappears and we end up back in the real world."

"One hour should be enough," said Link. "At least I hope so..."

"You don't sound confident," Ganondorf said to him.

"It's never wrong to worry about something," Link told him. "Though of course, I have confidence that we can get the job done before then!"

"Another thing I have to tell you is that the realm overlaps with the real world," Alucard told them. "We won't be able to see the people in the real world nor can they see us, so interaction between both sides is impossible. However, when the realm disappears, we will appear in the same spot as the artificial realm. Therefore, in case we cannot defeat Dracula in time, we should quickly head to a different location so as not to appear among the audiences and cause a ruckus. Do you get that?" Everyone nodded.

"There's also this," said Dark Pit, taking out two glass bottles containing golden liquid inside them. "The goddess said these cleansing waters will be able to undo the mind control on Julius's old men. You just have to smash the bottles over their heads, and they will hopefully return to normal."

"Why do I feel like the smashing over their heads part is something you made up and are looking forward to doing...?" Link said to him.

* * *

Castlevania, or better known as Dracula's Castle...

It had been Dracula's hideout ever since his rose to power. The massive and intimidating castle had persisted through the ages as a powerful stronghold for the vampire and all the monsters living in it.

Every time Dracula was defeated, the castle would fade into nothingness without an explanation, but when the vampire got resurrected, the castle returned. However, ever since Dracula's latest defeat, the castle was sealed away by the Morris Clan, a branch of the Belmont Clan, into a pocket dimension in order to prevent it from appearing in the real world when Dracula rose to power again.

The seal was a powerful one, having last for several decades, even until now. It was definitely an effective seal that kept the castle from making its appearance again and perhaps for several more years. Even so, this wasn't going to stop Dracula from carrying out his evil plans.

The evil vampire sat on his throne within his castle with Death at his side, while watching the various kinds of monsters gathered before him, all of them starving for destruction and blood after being locked inside this place for so long.

Standing up from his throne, Dracula grabbed the attention of the monsters and said to them, "Thank you all for your patience. It has been a long time since you were all stranded inside Castlevania. While it is a disappointment that the seal on this castle will still last several more years, I am proud to let you know that I have come up with an alternate solution to this problem."

Hearing this, the monsters let out monstrous cries that sounded more like cheers of happiness.

Pointing to a large and tall mirror placed on the floor among the monsters, Dracula explained, "What you see there is the Mirror of Fate. That is the solution for you all to leave this place and into the real world. I have designated the perfect location for you to feast on the flesh, blood, and bones of the wretched mortal that despise us!"

Again, the monsters cheered when they heard this.

"The time is approaching, my army!" Dracula said to them. "It is once again time for the power of darkness to take over the light! Head out there and feast until your hearts are content! Teach the mortals a lesson they will never forget! With our power, we shall be able to rule over the world and all those who oppose us!"

This time, the monster let out cries of excitement while punching the air. They were all eager to began their rampage in the real world.

Little did they all know that their plan wouldn't turn out exactly as planned...

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

The Golden Stag Festival is starting! Dracula's plan is underway as well! Fortunately, the Smashers have a surprise in store for him! This is it, we've official entered the climax of the story! I hope you all look forward to it!

And I should also let you know that I will not be skipping the contest. In fact, I plan to type out all ten performers and their performances, even if not in complete detail. Get YouTube ready, because you'll be using it to hear what songs and music they're going to perform!

Yes, the Squid Sisters are from Splatoon and Pauline is that woman from the Mario/Donkey Kong series. You'll be seeing them perform in the coming chapters! And does K. Rap sound like anyone familiar to you? Hmmm... I wonder...


	11. Let the Show Begin!

Do you have YouTube on your browser? Get ready, because you're gonna use it if you want to read this chapter with the best experience possible!

 **Chapter 11  
Let the Show Begin!**

* * *

It wasn't long before the Golden Stag Festival officially began, but even so, Franchouchou was already nervous, despite not going on stage until the very end of the show. They were nervous both because this was their first time performing overseas, so expectations from them were huge, and also because Dracula was going to launch his attack anytime during the contest. Even though they knew the Smashers would do something about this, they still could not help but be worried, even if some of them didn't want to admit it.

As they were thinking about all these, Kotaro came up to them and said, "This is it, girls! Your big day has finally come! Either way, all I can say is good luck on your performance and don't worry about that evil plan that's going to happen. I know the Smashers more than any of you, so I can be sure that they're going to deal with this issue. You should be more concerned about who you're up against."

"Anything you can tell us about the other contestants?" Ai asked him.

Pushing up his shades, Kotaro said, "Since you know about K. K. Slider already, there are at least three more contestants here that you don't know about due to them not being a thing yet when you folks died. I can shed you a bit of info on them." Looking around, he noticed said contestants hanging around in the room.

He pointed at two particular woman who were chatting with each other while striking a flashy pose. These two women had strange black markings that went around their eyes, and one of them had black hair, while the other had white hair. "Those two over there are the Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie," Kotaro explained to the zombies. "Hailing from Inkopolis, they are a race of squid people known as Inklings. They are famous pop idols in their homeland and have made a name for themselves a couple of years ago."

Next, he pointed at a tall woman with wavy black hair wearing a red dress, also making a pose as he did so. "That over there is Pauline, a singer from Brooklyn, New York. She only started her singing career last year, but despite this, she was able to obtain a large amount of fame in a short period of time. Can you believe that she's currently trying to run for mayor?"

Then he pointed at a woman with long, light blue hair wearing a white dress, yet again while making a pose. "That over there is Azura, a famous performer from the country of Nohr! She is a great dancer as well as she is in singing!"

"Wow...! That's quite a lot of big shots in this contest!" said Sakura in awe. "Can we really compete against them?"

"Don't let this get you down, Sakura! The more famous those people are, the more famous we will become if we beat them!" said Saki, sounding excited about getting to perform soon.

"Those are the only ones you really have to watch out for, but I have faith in you lot that you can outperform them!" Kotaro told them. "For the sake of Saga and your own popularity, make sure to give it all you've got!"

Looks of confidences appeared on the zombies's faces, and Sakura said, "We will, Tatsumi! We won't let you or Saga down!"

"That's what I want to hear!" said Kotaro with a smile. "Oh, and by the way..." All of a sudden, he took out a spray can and sprayed into the zombies's faces, causing them to cry in shock while shielding their faces with their hands. "Here! Have some waterproof spray! It may not be raining today, but in case you cry out of happiness or whatever, it will keep your tears from washing off your makeups!"

The Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie, saw what the producer was doing to the zombies, and the former asked, "What's that guy doing...?"

"Dunno... Spraying them with some kind of perfume? Doesn't explain their reaction, though..." replied Marie.

When Kotaro was done, he put the spray onto a nearby table and turned to leave. "All right! The show should began soon! Head over to the waiting room if you want to watch the other performance! They've got a TV there showing things live."

Saki then tapped him in the shoulder, grabbing his attention. He turned around, only to receive the waterproof spray right in his face, courtesy of said zombie. "Eat this, sucker!" she angrily said to him. He screamed in shock like a woman in response.

* * *

The audiences were waiting in excitement for the contest to begin. Blue and her family were present somewhere among the crowd, and so were the folks from Smashville.

Meanwhile, the Smashers sat up front, right next to Daisy. There were also guards patrolling the place, making sure that everything was in order. The Smashers then noticed a particular person patrolling along with the guards, and Mario called out to that person, "Vice Admiral Kamui!"

A silver-haired girl wearing silver armor turned around when she heard her name being called. Seeing Mario and the Smashers, she was surprised, "Smashers! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Yep! We came here for a vacation!" Mario told her with a smile.

The woman named Kamui walked up close to them and said, "Then you've came at the right time! Looking forward to show, aren't you?"

"What are you doing here?" Yoshi asked her.

Looking at him, she replied, "I'm on guard duty, though actually it's because a good friend of mine is participating in the contest, and I promised her I would come and watch in person. Since I am a marine, I've volunteered myself to perform guard duty while here as well."

"You are a hard worker, Miss Kamui!" Pit said to her. "You have the opportunity to get a day off, yet you decide to do your work regardless!"

"A marine's duty is never finished!" Kamui said to him with a smile.

"Who's your friend?" Mario asked her.

"Azura," Kamui told him. "She's from Nohr. I met her when I went to study abroad there, and we quickly became good friends, to the point of being sisters! She's a great dancer and singer! I'm sure you'll love her performance!"

Peach looked at the pamphlet she received and said, "Yes, I can see her name here. It seems she's the second to the last performer, right before Franchouchou."

"Well, I've got to take a stroll around to check on things," Kamui told the Smashers. "Can't let them catch me slacking off. Anyway, enjoy the show!" She then walked away.

"Who is she?" Dr. Mario asked Mario.

"She's a marine vice admiral we met-a while in da Yukkuri World, sent there by da governmetn to defend against people from World OYP," Mario told him. "You know, da world were da yukkuri first came from and got abused?" Dr. Mario nodded in response, remembering what he was told about the yukkuri incidents in an alternate world.

"You say she's a vice admiral, right?" Zelda asked Mario, who nodded in response. "Then you think we should tell her about Dracula? I'm sure she's powerful enough to help resolve the situation."

"That's-a what I wuz thinking just now," replied Mario. "But then I thought that-a I shouldn't. Who knows what-a she might do? Perhaps she will use her authority to call off da contest... I don't-a really think she's that-a kind of person, but just-a in case..."

Everyone then noticed a large white hand floating onto the stage. The sight of something like this was more than enough to silent more of less everyone. Taking the center of the stage, the hand spoke into the microphone, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Golden Stage Contest! I am your host for tonight, Alto Hand!"

* * *

Inside the waiting room, most of the contestants had gathered there to watch the television that was showing what was happening out on the stage. There were many chairs and sofas for people to sit on, though some people chose to stand for whatever reason.

Lily happily sat down on a sofa located closest to the television. Shortly after she sat down, someone plopped down right next to him with a force that caused him to bounce up a bit. He looked to the side to see that the person was a large, round crocodile wearing a pair of shades and a red cap backwards. One could describe his weight as being morbidly obese. The zombie looked at him from head to toe with a relatively surprised face, but then turned his head to the television, thinking that whoever this person was, he probably wouldn't mess with him.

* * *

Back outside, Alto Hand continued to make his announcement. "This is the night when the yearly music contest is beginning! Many performers have come from all over the world to show off their musical skills! We have ones that are already famous as well as ones who are trying to start their stardom career in this contest! Regardless of how they perform, let us be sure to give them a large round of applause! Everyone is a winner after all!"

Everyone clapped his or her hands in response, agreeing with what the Hand said.

When the Smashers hiding out in the alleyway saw this, Alucard said, "I think it's about time."

"Do your thing," Julius told him.

Alucard held out his hands, pointing them in the direction of the audiences. He chanted a magical incantation, and slowly, his hands glowed brightly. The air before him became distorted, and after a few seconds, the distortion stopped. "Um... I don't see any difference..." said Ridley.

Alucard said nothing pointed a finger at the air before him, and just like that, a portal appeared. He told the others to step inside, and they all did. Once they went through the portal, they found that the location hadn't changed, but the audiences before them had completely disappeared. In fact, there was not a single person present at all, barring themselves.

"Whoa! So this is the artificial realm you created?" Link asked Alucard.

The latter nodded. "Indeed. Like I said, this realm overlaps the real one, and interaction between both sides is impossible. No matter what you do here, it will be effected in the real world, and vice versa."

"So the monsters will show up here once they go through the mirror?" Ganondorf asked him.

"Yes, I have already connected this realm to the Mirror of Fate," Alucard told him. "Once Dracula sends his army through the mirror, they will find themselves in this realm, and it will be where we will strike them down without them bringing harm to the people and the contest."

Ganondorf punched his palm and said with a sinister-looking smile, "Well, let's hope they come soon! Can't wait to work out my fists!"

Back in the real world, Alto Hand continued to make his announcement. "Without further ado, we will begin the contest! To start off, we have someone hailing all the way from Onett, Eagleland! He was once a popular host for a children's TV show, but due to certain circumstances, the show came to an end, and he hasn't been hitting the jackpot since then. Despite all this, he continues to maintain a smile on his face, believing that everything will become better in the future! Here he is now, entering the contest and hoping to reclaim his former glory! Can he bring back the good old days again? Let us give a round of applause to Barney the Dinosaur!"

Cheers and sounds of clapping filled the air as Alto Hand moved to the side of the stage, while a fat, purple dinosaur with a green belly happily skipped onto the center of the stage, carrying with him a keyboard and its stand.

* * *

Back in Smash Mansion, the Smashers who were watching the TV were surprised to see the dinosaur make his appearance on the screen. "That explains why we haven't seen him here around these days..." said Mr. Game & Watch.

"I can't imagine him putting up anything special..." said Falco with an unimpressed look.

* * *

The contestants in the waiting room, too, saw what was happening from the television set up in there. "Hooray! Barney!" said Lily in excitement as he threw his arms into the air.

The obese crocodile next to him had an unimpressed look, however. "Huh! What's that child molester gonna do? Scare the crap out of children and annoy the hell out of adults? That's all he's good at nowadays!"

Looking at the crocodile with a displeased look, Lily said to him, "That's all in the past! I'm sure he felt sorry for what he did and is trying to make up for it!"

"You know nothing, kid!" the crocodile said as he look at the zombie. "That guy is nothing but nuisance! Just ask anyone who knows him! They'll tell you that he's a pest who only knows how to annoy people!"

"He'll definitely redeem himself! There is definitely still good in him! Just you see!" Lily said to him with confidence.

"A kid like you with nostalgia goggles on would never understand!" the crocodile said to him. "You were probably four or five when his show was still on, so you only have fond memories of him and don't know what he's been up to ever since!"

Lily pouted in response, not liking what he heard and completely disagreeing with him.

* * *

Barney took about a minute to set up the keyboard. After he was done, he stood in front of the musical instrument and said to the audience with wide open arms, "Thank you very much for cheering for me, my beloved audiences! Today, I am here to spread my song of love and happiness to you all! I am so happy to be able to perform for you all! I hope you love my song!"

He then sat down behind the keyboard and cracked his knuckles before starting his performance.

 **Performance Begins  
I Love You - TechShocker Remix  
(by Liberating Pulse/TechShocker)**

The sound of the piano being played was first heard when the dinosaur pounded away on the keyboard, and then he began singing:

 _I love you, you love me!  
We're all happy family!  
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you!  
Won't you say you love me too, too too, too...!_

The musical style then underwent a sudden change of becoming from piano to electronic techno. Barney pounded away happily on the keys, playing his theme song known by all those who watched his show before.

As the audience listened to this techno remix, they found themselves actually enjoying this otherwise not-so-impressive theme. After about two minutes of into the song, Barney once again sang:

 _I love you, you love me!  
We're all happy family!  
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you!  
Won't you say you love me too!_

 _I love you, you love me!  
We're all happy family!  
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you!  
Won't you say you love me too...!_

 _I love you,  
_ _I love you,  
_ _I love you,  
_ _I love you,_ _  
_

 _I love,_ _I love,_ _I love,_ _I love, I, I, I, I..._

He stopped singing and played in silence again for a few seconds before once again opening his mouth:

 _I love you, you love me!  
We're all happy family!  
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you!  
Won't you say you love me too!_

 **Performance Ends**

With that, Barney lifted his hands off the keyboard and raised them into the air, signalling the end of his performance. The audience let out a round of applause while clapping their hands nonstop, amazed at this performance. Those who knew of his reputation after the cancellation of his show had to admit that this was much better than they thought.

"Wow! That was pretty good!" said Peach in amazement while clapping her hands.

Mario nodded. "I am very surprised!"

"Bravo! That's what I call a good dinosaur!" said Yoshi while clapping nonstop at a fast speed. Piranha, who was next to him, was also clapping his leaves as if they were hands, though he wasn't making any sounds doing that.

* * *

The Smashers in Smash Mansion found that they enjoyed the performance more than they thought they would. Donkey was actually clapping the hardest among them. "Bravo! That was great!"

"Eh, I'll admit... That was pretty catchy," said Falco, though he still had a relatively unimpressed look on his face.

* * *

Back in the waiting room, Lily was clapping loudly and fast while bouncing up and down on his seat. "Yippee! That was awesome!"

"Meh... That won't change anything," said the crocodile with his arms crossed and also with an unimpressed look. "It'll take a lot more than just good music to restore your reputation!"

"You bet he will!" Lily said to him.

* * *

After Barney was done thanking everyone and packing up his belongings, he returned to the waiting room, while Alto Hand took the center of the stage. "That was amazing! As long as you are dedicated, you can always put up a spectacular performance!" he said, "Let us give him a round of applause again!

The audience once again cheered happily while clapping their hands for Barney.

"Let us all hope that he will once again return to stardom after this performance!" said Alto Hand. "Everyone deserves a second chance after all, don't they? I'm sure there are lots of impressive tales out there about how the worst people realized the errors of their ways and began living new and respectable lives. Regardless of the past Barney has been in, I'm sure he can put away those and become a likable person again!"

Inside the waiting room, Barney happily asked everyone in there if they liked his performance. Lily ran up to him and jumped up and down happily. "Wow! That was awesome, Mister Barney! You did great! I've always enjoyed your show when I was small! Congratulations on that awesome performance!"

"Thank you, little girl!" Barney happily said to him while patting his head. "Your love and happiness towards me makes my heart flutter!"

"You'd want to get away from him before he molests you, kid!" the fat crocodile said to Lily.

The zombie angrily turned to him and said, "Stop being so mean, would you?!"

"Don't be mad, little girl! Forgive others and shower them with your love, and they will definitely change!" Barney told Lily. "Have a smile on your face at all times, and all those who see you will want to smile again!"

Turning back to him, Lily said with a large smile, "I will, Mister Barney! No matter what happens, I will always support you!"

Barney thanked him for his support before walking away to put his belongings away. Lily then turned to the fat crocodile and said to him with a smile while tilting his head to the side in a cute manner, "Be happy and smile, Mister Crocodile! I'm sure good things will come to you if you smile everyday!"

"That's K. Rap to you, shrimp!" the crocodile said with an annoyed face in response. He then felt someone tapping his shoulder, and he turned around to see Saki standing behind him and the sofa.

"Sorry, but you have no right to call my friend shrimp!" she said to him with an offended look. "That right reserves to me and me only!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" the crocodile calling himself K. Rap asked her. Both contestants glared at each other and almost looked as if they were going to get into a fight. Sakura showed up next to them and begged them to calm down and get along with each other.

Back outside, Alto Hand was just beginning to introduce the next contestant. "Next, we have a rather interesting group of contestants," he said. "This group isn't actually dedicated to music. Rather, they are a group of indie game developers. Apparently, they entered this contest for a special reason, but I'll leave it to them to explain things to you. Let us give a round of applause to the Big Ol' Team!"

Everyone clapped his or hands as Alto Hand left for the side of the stage, while three people stepped forward onto the center. They consisted of two men and one woman, all of whom were morbidly obese people, dressed in fancy clothing fit for this occasion.

One of them is a black man with shaved head; the other is a bespectacled white guy with short, brown hair and a matching color beard; and the woman has curly, brown hair.

Holding up what appears to be a game cover showing an overweight rabbit, the bespectacled man spoke into the microphone, "Hello everyone. My name is Bart. The man next to me is Kevin, and this woman is Emily. We are part of the indie game development team Big Ol' Team, and we are currently in the middle of creating our first indie game for the PlayStation 4, titled Big Chungus."

As he said this, he began to cry, and so was the same with his two partners. This made everyone curious as to why they were crying.

"We had a fourth member, Marcus..." continued Bart in between sniffling. "A month ago, he got into an accident that left him hospitalized, and the doctor says he might not make it... Marcus was the musician of our group... He composed the soundtrack for the game, and at the same time, it was his dream to enter this contest, so what we will be singing is a song composed by him to help promote this game... Because he is in no condition to enter the contest, we've decided to enter it for him and sing this song for all the hear...

"But then this morning... We received a call from his doctor... saying that he... he..." He cried even harder as he said this, and that was when the audience began to understood what was going on. "...he passed away..."

Despite seeing this coming, everyone gasped in shock. Seeing the three contestants bursting into tears made them feel bad, not to mention making them want to cry as well.

"That's... That's terrible!" said Zelda, who was on the verge of tears.

"Indeed... Life is short and unexpected for mortals..." said Palutena in a sad tone. "I wish that Marcus will find peace in the afterlife, knowing that his friends are going to fulfill his dream for him..."

"We told the doctor to preserve his body until we return after the contest," continued Bart. "However, we also told him to put a live broadcast of this show next to him, hoping that wherever he is now, he will still be able to hear it..." He then stopped to wipe away his tears before continuing. "Even though this song is dedicated to our good friend, we don't necessary have to obtain first prize or any prize at all. Marcus is a man passionate with creating good music, and he doesn't care whether or not he received anything in return for it. So I'm asking the judges to please... judge fairly and don't necessarily think we deserve a better score just because of this... Marcus would want the contest to be fair, regardless of the situation."

After he was done speaking, he told everyone the song was going to start now. All those who were crying wiped their tears and got their ears ready to listen to their song.

 **Performance Begins  
** **Big Chungus  
** **(by CG5)**

Music began playing, and only a few seconds into it did the three began singing simultaneously:

 _He's a big chungus.  
He's a big chunky boy.  
Such a big bun, yes.  
We are so overjoyed To have a big chunky boy  
A big and wonderful chungus such as he!  
Such as he!_

 _He's a big chungus.  
He's a big chunky boy.  
Such a big bun, yes.  
We are so overjoyed  
To have a big chunky boy  
A big and wonderful chungus such as he!  
Such as he!_

The trio sang loudly, putting lots of emotion into it. In fact, tears were still running down their eyes as they sang. The audience opened their mouth at the amount of effort and emotion they put into singing the song. If there were anyone who didn't cry earlier, they were probably crying now.

 _Buns come in all shapes and all sizes.  
This one has so many surprises.  
I've never seen a giant quite like him.  
There's no one like him.  
Nobody like Chungus! _

_Get the game for PS4,  
For a limited time.  
Don't miss what it has in store.  
You're running out of time.  
Play the game of the year.  
The game with that colossal boy!_

As the contestants watched the three's performance, some of them with tears running down their eyes, Azura said, "This song... So much sadness in it... The way they sang it... It's like they want the whole world to not only be aware of and buy the product the poured their blood and sweat into, but also to show how much grief they are in losing a beloved friend... I have never heard such an emotional song before...!"

The zombie idols were all touched by this song, except Tae for obvious reasons. Seeing the griefs on the faces of those three singers, they wondered if their family members and friends who witnessed their deaths and attended their funerals were also filled with such amount of griefs. Thinking of this only made them sadder.

Though if there was anyone among them who actually understood the feeling of losing a loved one, it was Lily, as his, whom he took after in terms of appearance, passed away when he was still young.

 _He's a big chungus.  
He's a big chunky boy.  
Such a big bun, yes.  
We are so overjoyed  
To have a big chunky boy  
A big and wonderful chungus such as he!  
Such as he! _

_Buns come in all shapes and all sizes.  
This one has so many surprises.  
I've never seen a giant quite like him.  
There's no one like him! Nobody like Chungus!_

 **Performance Ends**

With the performance finished, there was a large round of applause, more so than Barney's performance. People were yelling out in excitement into the air, praising the trio for their spectacular performance.

"BRAVO!"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"I WANT TO PLAY BIG CHUNGUS NOW!"

The heart and soul the Big Ol' Team put into their song had truly captivated and touched their hearts. "Thank you... Thank you...!" said Bary while wiping tears. "I can only hope that Marcus, even in afterlife, has heard this song and that we have fulfilled his dream for him..."

All of a sudden, there was a loud broadcast that caught everyone by surprise. "Sorry for the interruption! This is from the backstage! Big Ol'Team, do you hear this? We just received a call from the hospital where your friend is! It's your friend's doctor! He has good news for you! Wait a minute... I'll put him on line."

Hearing this, Big Ol'Team was confused, and so was everyone else. A few seconds later, an older voice was heard. "Bart, Emily, Kevin! You won't believe it! You totally won't believe it! Marcus... He... He... He came back to life!"

Jaws dropped straight down the ground when everyone heard this surprising news. Big Ol' Team looked around, wondering if the doctor was serious about what he said, and they were having a hard time processing this as well.

"You don't believe me? Listen to him yourselves!" said the doctor.

A new voice then spoke up. "Bart... Emily... Kevin... It's me, Marcus... It really is me... This is probably a one-way communcation, so you can't respond to me, but I want you to know... that I heard your song... I woke up halfway through and heard the rest... It was... good...! Thank you, my friends... For doing this for you me...! I can see your shocked reactions on the TV from here... Thank you very much...!"

The three were still trying to process what they just heard when the doctor spoke up again, "I've checked his pulse and breathing, and they seem normal. He'll still have to stay in hospital for checkup, though. I'm still amazed that this miracle happened! Anyway, congratulation on your performance! I'm glad you friend enjoyed it! Hurry up back here once you're done! Marcus definitely wants to meet you all again!"

With that, the call ended. Big Ol' Team broke down into even more tears, but this time, it was out of happiness rather than sadness. "Marcus! Marcus! You're alive! Thank goodness! You're still alive!" said Bart loudly. The three then hugged each other tightly and wept in each other's shoulders.

The audience clapped their hands and cheered even louder than before, congratulating the three for their friend coming back to life miraculously.

Daisy was completely in tears as she clapped her hands. "THIS IS SO TOUCHING AND AWESOME! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! THE MUSIC RAISED THE DEAD!"

Wiping away her tears, Peach said, "Indeed... This is touching...! I can't believe a miracle like this happened." The other Smashers nodded tearfully, feeling happy for the miracle that happened.

Alto Hand approached the three and then said, "It's a miracle! It truly is a miracle! Music can be so good that it can literally revive the dead!"

* * *

Inside the waiting room, most of the contestants were also in tears and happy from hearing the miraculous news. Wiping her tears carefully so as not to rub off her makeup, Sakura said, "I'm so touched...! I can't believe something like this happened! It truly is a miracle!"

"I've never thought that I would hear about someone dying and then coming back to life!" said an equally teary and happy Junko.

"At least not in the same way as us..." said Saki under her breath.

* * *

Despite all that was happening in the real world, all those in the artificial created by Alucard was completely oblivious about what was happening out there. The Smashers were still waiting patiently for Dracula's army to arrive, and they had to admit that it was a rather boring wait.

Their wish was granted when all of a sudden, a mirror popped out of thin air on the stage, grabbing their attentions. They watched as various sorts of monster begin stepping out of the mirror one after another, monsters such as goblins, werewolves, ghouls, skeletons, and more. Upon stepping out, the monsters looked around for people to attack, and they were admittedly confused at the lack of people, as they were told that the location they were going to appear at would be filled with them.

"They're here," Julius said with a serious expression as he readied his whip.

"And about time!" said Link as he readied his sword and shield.

"Right! Let's get this show started!" said Ganondorf while cracking his knuckles.

* * *

Back in the real world, Big Ol' Team had returned to the waiting room, where they were congratulated by most of those there for their performance and also their friend coming back to life. Some even told them that they would definitely buy and play Big Chungus when it comes out. The game developers thanked them from the bottom of their hearts for their support.

"Next, we have a bunch of new faces making their debut in the music industry today!" said Alto Hand, whose voice was heard in the waiting room as well. "Let us give a round of applause to the the Kick-Tail Crew!"

Hearing this, K. Rap jumped from his seat, whipped out a trumpet from seemingly nowhere, and said out loud while waving his hand, "All right, folks! We're up! Get to it!" When he said this, five crocodiles who had been hanging out in the room stood up and followed him out of the place.

Three of the crocodiles were green and rather slim, one of brown and fat, and the last one was blue and muscular. The fat one was carrying a saxophone, while the muscular one was pushing a trolley containing a drum set.

"Well, they're up. What do you think they're gonna perform?" asked Saki as she watched the group of crocodiles leave the room.

"From the looks of it, probably heavy metal or something like that?" said Ai, looking at the television that showed them appearing on stage.

Outside, K. Rap and his band appeared on the stage, and while the muscular crocodile set up the drum set, the former spoke into a microphone, "Listen up, dude! I am K. Rap, and I have here with me the Kick-Tail Crew! Just because we're new to this sort of thing doesn't mean we are pushovers! What we are able to perform now will totally rock your socks off, and you better believe it! After this show, I'm telling ya! Ya bunch are gonna be talking about how rad the Kick-Tail Crew is gonna be! We're going to reach for stardom, and nobody is going to stop us!"

* * *

Back in Smash Mansion, Donkey took a good look at K. Rap and said, "Hey, that guy looks a lot like K. Rool!"

Diddy narrowed his eyes as he looked at the screen. "I think that is K. Rool..."

* * *

The muscular crocodile finished setting up the drum set, and he signaled K. Rap that he was ready to start. K. Rap nodded in response, and then he took his position, holding up his trumpet, while the three slim crocodiles stood in front of him with their arms crossed in front of their chests. The fat one stood next to K. Rap, readying his saxophone.

Suddenly, music burst out of the speaker, and then the brass instruments and the drums began being played.

 **Performance Begins  
Gang-Plank Galleon  
(Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)**

The three crocodiles at the front bobbed their heads up and down while tapping their feet, while the other three played their musical instruments, playing it more and more intensely with every passing second.

A few seconds later, the three crocodiles suddenly began breakdancing in perfect sync. The three with the instruments continued to play their instruments, and the other three kept on dancing, their moves becoming different with each passing second.

The fast-paced and catchy music made some of the audiences bob their heads up and down. They found themselves enjoying this tune. "Wow! Nice theme! I'm liking it!" commented Yoshi. Piranha was waving his head left and right with a large smile on his face.

After a few seconds of singing, K. Rap flung his trumpet into the air, and one of the crocodiles at the front rushed over to it to catch and play it, while K. Rap himself came up to the front with a microphone in his hand and began rapping:

 _You can do it, whelp.  
You can claw 'im, gnaw 'im, stone 'im, beat 'im.  
I'll do this with my mind, you just obey ME!  
And do you stammer, stammer seein' my eye?  
You better star me, steam me, see me, scrub me, feed me my pie.  
You ready already, or wheezy oh?  
And bestial crushin', easy though.  
And total-ly the very top D N A, now!  
You need a shanty, shanty, shanty: a song.  
You're an extremely scary regent that conquers us all, You go!_

K. Rool then broke down into dancing himself, with the other two crocodiles dancing side to side of him. Despite having a portly appearance, K. Rap amazed everyone with unexpectedly fast-paced and high leveled dance moves. They were amazed when he began performing acrobatic flips into the air, breakdancing with both hands on the floor and never letting his feet touch the floor, and even balancing and bouncing up and down on his stubby tail.

Back in the waiting room, the contestants could not help but be impressed by what they saw. Even the music was pleasing to their ears.

"Dang! They're good!" commented Saki in disbelief.

"I have to admit that this tune has quite a charm to it!" commented Yuugiri.

Wario and Waluigi had not-so-impressed looked on their faces. "Just wait til everyone see our dance moves!" said Wario, sounding confident of his performance.

"Right! Those guys got nothing on us!" agreed Waluigi.

Wario was wearing a golden, glittering disco suit and a pair of shades with golden frames decorated with crystals. Waluigi was dressed similarly, except his suit and shades were purple instead of gold.

The Kick-Tail Crew continued to perform. As the ones with musical instruments kept on doing their things, the two dancing crocodiles ran towards K. Rap, who thrust his large belly into them when they got close to him. One by one, they were sent flying back into the air, curled up and constantly spinning. They landed perfectly on their feet and then ran towards K. Rap again, who pulled off the same move over and over. This stunt also amazed the crowd.

After doing this for a few more times, the three stood side to side and continued breakdancing to the music. After a couple more minutes, the music finally came to an end, and those three struck a pose consisting of K. Rap standing with his arms pointing into the air at angles and with peace signs, while the two crocodiles knelt down next to him, pointing their hands at him as if presenting him as a kingly figure.

 **Performance Ends**

A huge round of applause erupted immediately. People were constantly yelling about how it was the best performance they've seen until now.

"WOW! THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!"

"ENCORE! ENCORE!"

K. Rap then spoke loudly into microphone while pointing at the night sky. "Ya hear that? This is how a pro does it! Remember the name K. Rap, because it's going to be the biggest thing you'll hear in the coming days!"

People clapped once again and even chanted his name over and over nonstop.

K. Rap continued to ramble loudly about his fame and also his group's. After he was done, he performed a mic drop, which made the audience cheer even more. The whole group bowed down before leaving the stage, while the audiences kept on clapping their hands.

Alto Hand then came on stage and said, "That was amazing! Easily the best so far! This gives me high hopes on what else there will be!"

* * *

The Smashers back in the mansion were greatly impressed with the incredible performance. From the music to the rapping to the stunt-like performance, they all agreed that this K. Rap was indeed a spectacular performer. Actually, some of them thought the rap itself could be better.

Donkey was clapping his hands nonstop. "Wow! That K. Rap is awesome! I'm a fan of him now!"

"Seriously, I'm sure he's K. Rool..." Diddy told him, but the latter didn't seem to be listening or didn't care.

* * *

Back in the artificial realm, the Smashers were having a fine time beating up the monsters that showed up.

Link slashed away with his sword, Ganondorf punched and kicked the lights out of everyone, Dark Pit fought with a combination of sword slashes and arrow shots, Ridley fought using the sharp parts of his body and fire breaths, Samus blasted the monsters away with her energy blasts and missiles, Lucario fought using a combination of close-ranged fighting style and aura-based projectiles, Greninja hacked and slashed away with water constructs in the form of blades, Bayonetta went trigger happy and also summoned giant fists and feet to pummel the monsters to death, Julius went wild with his whip, and Alucard used powerful magic and impressive physical feats to overwhelm his enemies.

Long answer short: the monsters were fighting a losing battle, and dead bodies were all over the place as a result.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

I had a lot of fun with this chapter! Did you enjoy it?

As long as you type the name of the songs and the artists' names into the search bars, you should be able to find them as the first result on YouTube.

I made up Alto Hand and Big Ol' Team. As for K. Rap... I have no comment on that...

And yes, that's Azura from Fire Emblem Fates. And Kamui, in case you haven't read my past stories, is female Corrin. I call her by herself Japanese name, but the male version by his English name. They are twins in my series.

It didn't take me too long to find a good remix of I Love You. I originally intended for a metal remix, but then I stumbled upon the techno one by chance and I thought it would be a great choice instead.

When I was told that someone made a song based on the Big Chungus meme, I went to check it out. Dang, that's one incredible song! I was so amazed by it that I thought I just have to put it into this story. I also thought it would be an interesting idea if I gave that song a sad backstory. Things ended up happy in the end!

And Gang-Plank Galleon... One of the best remixes in Smash Bros. Ultimate! K. Rool really got a lot of good things in Smash Bros. this time around! But does this mean K. Rap is actually K. Rool? Um... No comment... again...

Stay tuned for more performances in the next chapter! And you will definitely see more action on the monster fighting side too!


	12. The Show Goes On

Guess what? I have another Zombie Land Saga story, even stories, I want to make after this one is finished! Info on it will be shared in the near future!

 **Chapter 12  
The Show Goes On**

* * *

K. Rap and his group returned to the waiting room and immediately boasted about how well he performed out there. Some of the contestants congratulated him, but Wario and Waluigi had unimpressed looks on their faces. "We can do better than that!" said the former.

Not please with what he heard, K. Rap turned to him and said, "Oh yeah? You think you're better than me? What can a pile of fat like you do?"

"This pile of fat will pull off flashier dance moves than the pile of fat that you are as well!" Wario said to him as he closed his faces towards the crocodile's.

"My fat is unike yours! They provide me with the energy to pull off incredible moves! Yours probably just slows you down!" K. Rap said to him.

"I'm sure it's the other way round! You'll see for yourself once it's my turn on the stage!" Wario told him.

"Let us welcome Wario and Waluigi!" said Alto Hand's voice from outside all of a sudden.

Wario smiled when he heard this. "Oh yeah! It's our turn, Waluigi! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Oh yeah!" said Waluigi with glee as he cracked his knuckles before heading for the stage with Wario.

Watching them leave, Saki said, "At least they're not singing. I hope... Still can't forget how horrible they sang that day..."

"We can only hope..." said Ai.

* * *

Wario and Waluigi stepped out onto the stage and received a large amount of clapping and cheering from the audience. "Here they come... I wonder what they're going to do?" wondered Luigi.

"Looks like they're going to dance disco, judging by da clothes," said Mario.

"Let's just hope we don't have to hear their awful singing like that day..." said Dr. Mario, shuddering at the thought of it.

"All right! It's time for us to show off our awesome dance moves! It's better than anything you have laid your eyes on! You better burn our dance moves into your brains, because so long as you dance like us, you will always be the winner!" Wario said out loud to everyone.

There was another round of applause, and then Wario and Waluigi took their positions on the stage. Soon, the music began playing.

 **Performance Begins  
Starring Wario  
(Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix)**

A catchy jazz music began playing, and then Wario and Waluigi began dancing in perfect sync. Their dance moves consisted mostly of arm swinging, spinning on one foot, moonwalking, jumping around in the air, and some other flashy moves. It was no surprise that someone with a build like Waluigi could dance in such a manner, but Wario managed to pull off equally impressive dance moves, despite his body build.

Raising an eyebrow, Mario said, "Not-a bad! I didn't know they can dance like-a that!"

"They sure are full of surprises!" commented Peach.

As the duo continued to dance, their moves became more and more different from each other. They each began pulling off their own dance moves, but despite this, their actions corresponded to each other so that the performance didn't look like a mess.

In the waiting room, the contestants watched with interest at the duo pulling off their dance moves. "Not exactly the most advanced dance moves, but still quite good," commented Ai.

"Credit where it's due," said Junko with a nod.

K. Rap, however, wasn't impressed. "Ha! Looks like child play compared to my dance moves!"

* * *

A large and terrifying monster with purple fur and goat-like horns let out a terrible roar as it ran towards Ridley, creating footprints on the solid pavement with each step. The winged creature took his stance, ready to confront of the approaching monster. When the monster was close to hitting him, Ridley opened his mouth, and in an instant, a powerful blast of fire erupted from it, striking the monster's head with such a force that it was instantly torn to shreds. In fact, the force of the explosion propelled the now headless and burning monster back into the air, where it flipped on its back before landing with a crash.

Seeing this, Link commented with an impressed look, "That's something to write home about!" A shadow suddenly went past him, so he looked up to see a large purple wyvern soaring around in the air, shrieking loudly.

Seeing the monster, Samus took aim with her arm cannon and fired multiple energy shots, but the wyvern dodged every single one of them. When the latter swooped down to attack her, she rolled out of the way. The wyvern made a u-turn, and as it was flying overhead her, the armored being fired a grappling beam made of electricity at the creature, grabbing its body from below.

The wyvern let out cries of anger as it tried to pull itself free from the grappling beam, but Samus displayed an unexpectedly large amount of strength as she planted her feet firmly onto the pavement to keep the creature from getting away. Taking aim with her other arm cannon, Samus fired a missile at the wyvern's body, striking it in the chest and sending it crashing onto the pavement. The wyvern was still showing signs of life, so Samus approached its head and fired her arm cannon at it at point blank, completely blowing its brains out.

Dark Pit was close by when he saw this act of brutality. Looking at Samus, he gave her a thumbs up for her job well done. "Oh, and one more thing," the black angel said to her. "Mind if I call you Dark Samus? I already know a Samus living back home, and I hate to get the both of you confused." Samus thought about this question for a few seconds before giving a thumbs up as approval. "Okay then, Dark Samus it is."

Meanwhile, Greninja was battling a tall humanoid creature who appeared to be created by sewing several body parts together, AKA Frankenstein's Monster. The frog Pokemon flung multiple water shurikens at the creature, but the latter continued to move forward, despite those small projectiles being lodged into his body.

After those shurikens dissipated, Greninja created a water sword and ran at the creature, slashing him across the chest when at range. The creature recoiled a bit, but recovered almost immediately afterwards and then reached out his hand at an unexpectedly fast speed, grabbing the Pokemon by the hand. The creature was going to punch him using the other hand, but the Pokemon responded by shooting a large of water out of his mouth into his face, causing the creature to let go of him.

Greninja jumped back to a safer distance and then created two large water shurikens, almost as large himself, and flung them at the creature, slicing off both his arms. Greninja then jumped at the creature, slicing his head clean off with a water sword. Finally, the creature fell forward on his front, dead.

The rest of the Smashers continued to battle various monsters. Bayonetta just shot a succubus out of the air and summoned a giant foot to crush her underfoot while commenting on how the latter still had years to go in order to compete with her in terms of beauty.

Link rolled a bomb like a bowling ball into a group of skeletons armed with swords and shields that were running towards him. It exploded in the midst of them, sending individual bones all over the place. Catching one of the bones that flew towards him, Link looked at it and said, "Hunt might want this. Hmmm... On second thought..." He then flung it away. "He'll probably get possessed..."

A Flea Man jumped at Ganondorf, who countered him by lifting his feet straight up at a fast speed, kicking the midget monster from below so hard that he shot straight up into the air and didn't seem to be coming back down any longer, or at least not in a while.

Looking around, Julius saw that all the monsters that came out of the mirror were killed. "That should be all of them," he said, right before he swung his whip behind himself without looking back to smash the head of a female zombie, as evident of its long hair and dress.

"We made quite a mess, don't we?" asked Ridley, looking around at the dead bodies. "These are going to pop back up in the real world, aren't they...?"

"I can handle that," said Alucard. He placed his hands close to each other and caused blue light to appear in between them. After chanting a magical incantion, he spread his hands to the sides, and then a blue shockwave spread out across the place. The dead bodies immediately caught on blue fire which slowly burned them away until there was nothing left. The area was once again devoid of anything.

"What did you do?" Lucario asked him.

"I performed a spell used for cleaning up dead bodies," explained Alucard.

"Pretty handy, huh?" commented Link.

Most of them then felt the presene of newcomers approaching thanks to their observation haki, or aura. They all turned to the stage to see Dracula and Death in front of the Mirror of Fate, and the mind controlled Simon and Richter were there as well. "Look who finally showed up!" said Ganondorf.

Dracula had an unimpressed look on his face, unsurprisingly. "What a bother..."

* * *

Wario and Waluigi's dancing continued. Occasionally, one of them would take the back seat for the other one to dance solo, and they would take turns doing this.

After a few more minutes of dancing, their performance finally came to an end, and their poses at the end was that of getting down on one knee and raising their arms into the air at angles.

 **Performance Ends**

The audience clapped and cheered for them, and some of them even asked for an encore. "Wahaha! Now you know why we are the best!" Wario happily said to everyone. "Glad to know you folks like it! You can bet that we're going to be the winners of this contest! Make sure to remember the name Wario!"

"And also Waluigi!" Waluigi said out loud to the audience.

As they made their exit, the audience continued to cheered for them. Returning to the waiting room, Wario said out loud to all those in there, "How'd you like our performance? Godly, wouldn't you say so?"

"Ha! Is that best you've got?" K. Rap said to him in a mocking tone and with his arms crossed. "Those dance moves look like beginner moves! It's clear that you're new to this sort of thing!"

Wario glared at him and said, "You're asking for a death wish, aren't you?" Waluigi was also unimpressed with what he heard and joined Wario in glaring at the crocodile.

The tension between them rose as they continued to glare at each other, and everyone else worried that a fight was going to erupt any second. Barney approached them with a smile on his face and said, "Cheer up, everyone! We're all a big happy family, and family shouldn't fight!" Wario and K. Rap responded by smacking him in the face with the back of their fists, sending him flying into a wall. Lily ran up to the purple dinosaur in concern upon seeing this.

"Next up, we have the Squid Sisters!" announced Alto Hand loudly.

Callie and Marie immediately got up from their seats, and the former happily said, "All right! It's our turn!"

"Let's show everyone what we've got!" said Marie happily.

As they left the waiting room, they told Wario and K. Rap to get along with each other.

"Right, you a lot should get along, because this is a place where we settle things through music and not fist fights," Pauline said to Wario and K. Rool as she approached them and placed her hands on their shoulders. "The both of you did splendidly! I enjoyed both of your performances! Now be nice boys and get along with each other! Bad things will happen if you insist on fighting. Who knows? You may end up getting no awards simply because of your behaviors!"

After hearing her, the fat duo decided to end their quarrel for now, though it was clear that they still had antagonism for each other.

"All right! Time to see what those idols are capable of!" Saki said in interest as she looked at the televsion, which showed the Squid Sisters appearing on stage.

"I've never seen foreign idols before, so will surely be a new experience for me!" said Yuugiri.

* * *

"Woohoo! The Squid Sisters! They're awesome!" commented Daisy happily when she saw the two Inklings appearing on stage.

"I heard of them before, but never actually watched their performances," said Peach.

Looking at the woman in pink, Daisy said to her, "You should! They're really good! In fact, you should pay Inkopolis a visit someday! It's a great place!"

Callie and Marie took the center of the stage and waved happily at the audience. Fans of them were among the audiences, and they immediately called out loud their names and even waved around banners and flags containing pictures of them.

"CALLIE!"

"MARIE!"

"YOU BOTH ARE THE BEST!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

Waving at her fans, Marie said out loud, "Thank you very much for your support! We're happy that you came all the way here to see our performance in person!"

"Thank you all for coming here tonight!" said Callie. "We now have a special performance for you all! We hope you will enjoy it!"

More cheers came from the audience as the two Inklings took their positions on the stage and waited for the music to start.

 **Performance Begins  
Ultimate Calamari Inkantation  
(by TheMythicalMatty)**

Music began playing, and the two squid girls started whipping out there dance moves while singing:

 _Now we be strong  
Together we will sing this song  
And you can sing along  
Callie, Marie  
We're one and two, and you make three  
So sing harmony  
And together we shall see  
Where we belong_

 _So long we tried  
And finally see victory  
Before the ink has dried  
Together we play this Calamari Inkantation  
And together we turn the tide_

 _And the song we sing  
Forever in our hearts will ring  
To every Inkling  
We'll save the day  
We stand united, come what may  
So go on your way  
With you hope, you can do anything  
And now we must be strong  
Together we will sing this song  
So you can sing along  
Callie, Marie  
We're one and two, and you make three  
So sing harmony  
And together we shall see  
Where we belong_

Not only were the audiences enjoying the song, they also found themselves dancing somewhat to the tune, almost as if the song had a hypnotic effect being induced on them. "Wow! Nice tune!" said Yoshi while waving his head left and right and also tapping his feet against the pavement. Piranha was also waving his head left and right, and with a large smile on his face.

"Oh yeah! That's what I call a nice beat!" commented Luigi happily while doing a jig.

Daisy was happily waving her head side to side while snapping her fingers, and her Toad escorts while doing jigs to the tune as well.

 _So long we tried  
But we stayed fresh, we splat all the rest  
Leave them electrified  
Together we play this Calamari Inkantation  
And together we will turn the tide_

 _And the song we sing  
Forever in our hearts will ring  
To every Inkling  
And come what may  
They'll never ever take away  
Our bright shining day  
'Cause we know we can do anything  
And now we must be strong  
Together we will sing this song  
And you can sing along  
Callie, Marie  
We're one and two, and you make three  
_ _So sing harmony  
And together we shall see  
Where we belong_

Backstage, the contestants found themselves enjoying the song as well. "Oh yeah! I'm liking this!" said K. Rap happily while swinging his arms left and right and tapping both feet.

"Wa! I can dance to this tune all day!" said Waluigi while pumping fists in the air over and over, not to mention performing thrusting movements with his hips. Barney next close by, happily waving his hands in the air while jumping slightly nonstop in response to the music.

In response to catchy tune, Tae had her arms high up in the air and waving her body left and right while making cheerful-sounding cries. Lily, meanwhile, was doing a happy jig while seated.

"Wow! This is really good!" said Junko, greatly enjoying the music while watching the Squid Sisters dance on the TV.

"I agree! This really is something to get many people dancing!" said Ai in agreement.

 _And the song we sing  
Forever in our hearts will ring  
To every Inkling  
And come what may  
They'll never ever take away  
Our bright shining day  
'Cause we know we can do anything  
And now we must be strong  
Together we will sing this song  
And you can sing along  
Callie, Marie  
We're one and two, and you make three  
_ _So sing harmony  
And together we shall see  
Where we belong_

 _Now we be strong  
Together we will sing this song  
And you sing along  
Callie, Marie  
We're one and two, and you make three  
So sing harmony  
And together we shall see  
Where we belong  
_

 **Performance Ends**

With that, the song ended, and the Squid Sisters struck a pose, while everyone clapped their hands and cheered loudly for them, praising them nonstop.

"WOOHOO!

"ALL RIGHT!"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"ENCORE!"

* * *

Back in the artificial realm, the good guys and the villains stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Noticing Alucard, Dracula said to him, "As much as I hate to admit it, it was foolish of me to think that you wouldn't do anything about it, Alucard!"

"And that was your biggest mistake, but also our biggest benefit!" Alucard angrily said to him.

"This ends now, Dracula! You're outnumbered!" Julius said to the vampire. "And let my ancestors go at once!"

"You're foolish to think you can defeat me through sheer number alone!" said Dracula in response. "I have grown a lot more powerful with each defeat! No matter how many of you there are, you will not prevail against me!"

"Someone's arrogant, huh?" commented Ganondorf with his arms crossed.

"That makes their defeat all the more satisfying for us!" said Link, looking enthusiastic to begin fighting.

"We will not let you ruin this contest!" Ridley angrily said to Dracula. "You have no right to ruin the happiness of the people!"

"Again, you are fools to think that you can defeat me or stop my plans!" Dracula angrily said to them all. "I admit that things did not go as planned, but nevertheless, I will be the one to prevail in the end! This is only a small part of my plan! I have much bigger things in store, but first, I will make sure that you all die for coming against me! Go forth, my warriors!" He spread out his arm in the direction of the heroes, and then Simon and Richter ran towards them.

Simon swung down his whip at Alucard, and the latter jumped back to avoid it before firing a blast of fire from his hand at the vampire hunter. Swinging his whip, Simon was able to dissipate the fire before running at Alucard again to attack him, but the half-vampire was able to avoid every single strike with swift movements.

Ricther ran towards Bayonetta and threw several knives that she easiy avoided. "What's this? Continuing where we left off? I'll gladly play with you again!" Bayonetta said to him, and then they both fought.

Meanwhile, Ridley asked the others, "What's the plan? We just have to get the cleansing water onto them, right?"

"The goddess said it has to touch their heads in a decent quantity," explained Dark Pit. "An bottle will do, which is why I said to smash them over their heads."

"We'll probably end up killing them or give them brain damage..." Link said to him.

"We'll have to restrain them some way and then pour the contents onto them," said Julius.

"We can talk about that later! Our friends need our help, not us talking at a time like this!" said Ridley as he took flight in Simon's direction at a fast speed. He tackled the vampire hunter and pushed him away from Alucard, slamming him into a building wall. Simon grunted angrily and then displayed quite a bit of strength by shoving Ridley back a bit of a distance. He then swung his whip at the winged creature, but Ridley used his tail as a whip in response, and they bounced off each other when they clashed.

With his hand suddenly bursting into purple fire, Ridley thrust forward to catch Simon with it, but the vampire hunter rolled out of the way before swinging his whip at the creature's hand, wrapping around it. Ridley pulled back his hand in response, but Simon planted his feet firmly against the pavement and pulled him as well.

Using his other hand, Simon threw an x-shaped boomerang at Ridley, who easily swatted it away before lunging at Simon and pinning him onto the ground by the neck. "Dark Pit! Quick! Get on the bottles here and pour it onto his head!" Ridley shouted to the black angel while struggling to hold down Simon, which wasn't as easy as it seems, as the vampire hunter was rather strong.

"On it!" said Dark Pit as he ran towards Ridley as fast he could with one bottle in his hand. However, he had to jump out of the way to avoid an energy blade fired at him by Death.

"I know what you are planning, and I will not let you succeed!" the grim reaper said to him. At the same time, Simon was able to pry Ridley's hand off his neck and then lift his leg straight up, kicking him in the chest hard enough to make him shoot upwards.

Strapping the bottle around his waist next to the second one, Dark Pit readied his dual swords and said to Death, "You're asking for a death wish, you know that?"

"The only one with a death wish here is you!" said Death before swinging his scythe at Dark Pit, who held up his swords in a cross formation to block it. Dark Pit thrust his swords forward, pushing back Death as a result, and then closed in on him while slashing with his swords constantly, but the grim reaper kept on blocking them with his scythe skillfully.

Death then moved back at a fast speed from the black angel and swung his scythe straight down, creating an energy wave that cut across the pavement. Dark Pit hurriedly rolled to the side to avoid getting bisected by it.

Death was going to attack him again when suddenly he was struck in the side of his face by Juliu's mace-tipped whip. "How does it feel to fall for this two times?" the vampire hunter asked the grim reaper with a smirk.

"Fool! You will all pay!" said Death angrily while holding up his scythe.

* * *

"Continuing on with the show," Alto Hand said to the audience, "we next have the famous musician of K.K. Slider! And in addition to that, he was brought a singer with him. Her name is Isabelle, the secretary to the mayor of Smashville! Let us give the girl a round of applause!"

People clapped their hands as K.K. Slider and Isabelle walked on stage, the latter looking a bit shy. The tourists from Smashville cheered especially the loudest for obvious reasons.

"Hooray! Isabelle!"

"You're the best!"

"We're rooting for you!"

"Do your best, my sister!" cried out Digsy, Isabelle's twin brother.

"Make me proud, my secretary!" said Tortimer loudly.

"You can do it, Isabelle!" Murabito shouted out to her.

"Yeah! Make people's ears bleed with your singing!" yelled out Villager. In response to that nonsensical and out-of-place quote, Murabito pinched Villager's cheek hard. "Ow!"

K.K. Slider got the microphone and said, "Thank you all for coming hear to listen to our performance. The song I will be singing is called Bubblegum K.K. I will provide the guitar solo, while Isabelle will be the singer. This is not her first time singing, and I have listened to her sing in the past and can confirm that she is a wonderful singer! I hope you will give her your greatest support!"

People clapped their hands as Isabelle stepped forward with her microphone. Looking shy, the dog said with a smile, "Thank you very much for your support! This is my first time performing in front of such a large group of people! Admittedly, it makes me scared, but now that I'm here, I will do my best to impress every one of you! I hope you enjoy the song!"

The audience clapped again as the two got into their positions to begin performing.

 **Performance Begins  
** **Bubblegum KK - English Cover  
** **(by Frankie del Mar)**

K.K. Slider played his guitar, and then Isabelle began singing:

 _There is something magic_  
 _Within all our hearts now_  
 _There's really something magic_  
 _In having a friend!_  
 _I know whenever_  
 _We are together_  
 _That we will have some fun, 'cuz friendship never ends._

 _We could be ridin' along, seein' all the sights in the town_  
 _And at the end of the day, to my house let's both come down_  
 _And we'll watch movies all night, fallin' asleep to the sound_

"Ahhh...! This song makes me feel so comfortable!" commented Yoshi happily. Wrapping his hand around Piranha, who was leaning against him, he said, "It also makes me glad that I have friends!"

"Somehow, I feel like all my stress have been released from me just by listening to this!" said Luigi happily.

 _Now there's something special_  
 _In having a best friend_  
 _There's really something special_  
 _That I just can't explain!_  
 _Like blowin' bubbles_  
 _And sharin' troubles_  
 _It fills me with such joy, when I just call your name_

 _There will be times in life when the rain has to fall_  
 _But I know with your hand in mine, well we won't mind at all_  
 _We'll jump in puddles, havin' a ball!_

As Lily listened to this on with a large smile on his face, memories of the past started to resurface in his head. He remember when he was still alive years ago, he met K.K. Slider for the first time when the latter came to Japan, and they performed together at a studio. He had a fun time singing the songs the dog made, and even though their meeting only lasted a day and not so long, they still got along with each other well and could even said to have become friends that day.

Though they were arguing with each other earlier, K. Rap and Wario were now sitting next to each other on the sofa and with their hands over each other's shoulders. "Sorry about just now," Wario said to the crocodile. "I was so confident about my own performance that I refused to accept anyone else as better than me."

"I'm sorry as well... I shouldn't have looked down on other people," said K. Rap. "Hearing this song... made me realize that we should all be friends rather than fighting each other."

"Agreed!" said Wario with a nod.

 _I know that it's magic_  
 _That brought us together_  
 _And it's that same magic_  
 _That holds you in my heart!_  
 _And though the time will never remain still_  
 _I know that you and I, will never be apart._

 _My best friend_  
 _Together_  
 _Oh Yeah!_

 **Performance Ends**

With the song finished, people cheered and clapped loudly. The tourists of Smashville cheered the loudest especially.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"ISABELLE IS THE BEST!"

"YOU DID GREAT, MY SISTER!" cried out Digsy with tears of happiness running down his eyes.

"You have made me proud, my secretary!" cried out Tortimer.

"Great singing, Isabelle!" shouted Murabito.

"Yeah! Let's see everyone else try to top you!" called out Villager.

* * *

Ganondorf dashed at Richter, slamming his hand into the side of his face with a hand full of dark energy. The palm thrust sent the vampire hunter rolling along the pavement, but he eventually came to a stop and then threw an x-shaped boomerang at Ganondorf, who rushed straight for him.

The Gerudo easily swatted the weapon out of the air and pulled back his fist covered in dark energy to smash it into Richter. The latter leaped out of the way when Ganondorf brought down his fist, smashing the pavement with it. Richter readied to swing his whip at him, only to be interrupted by Dark Samus when she caught the end of whip with her grappling beam.

This gave Ganondorf the opportunity the opportunity to slam his fist into Richter's guts. The punch could've been more painful for Richter if it weren't for Ganondorf sensing that the vampire hunter used armament aura to harden his body at the last second. Dropping his whip, Richter grabbed Ganondorf's head and then headbutt him in the forehead hard, knocking him back.

Richter then picked up his whip and ran towards Dark Samus, slamming his fist into her face and knocking her back, not to mention disabling her grappling beam as well. Ganondorf got back up and angrily threw a punch at him, but Ricther turned around in time and blocked the attack with his elbow.

Close by, Rdiely continued to battle Simon. The former swung his claws at a fast speed to counter the equally fast whip attacks coming from Simon. As he did so, Ridley slowly closed in on Simon. When at range, he reached out his hand to Simon's collar and then slammed the vampire hunter hard onto the pavement, so much that it cracked.

"Dark Pit! Got your water ready?!" Ridley shouted at the black angel. "We can't keep on fighting them like this forever!"

"Same here! Do something about it already!" said Ganondorf, who had somehow gotten behind Richter to restrain him by the arms. Richter suddenly displayed quite a showcase of strength by bending over to flip Ganondorf over himself and slamming him onto the pavement. Before he could do anything, a giant hand created by Bayonetta caught him from behind and lifted him into the air.

"Throw them at me!" Dark Pit shouted at Ridley and Bayonetta. He was holding the bottles in his hands.

Simon was trying to pry Ridley's hand off his collar when the winged creature lifted him up and forcefully flung him in Dark Pit's direction. Also heeding Dark Pit's instruction, Bayonetta had the giant hand throw Richter towards Dark Pit.

The two vampire hunters soared through the air towards each other, which happened to be where Dark Pit was as well. The two could do nothing but crash into each other face to face in midair, and that was when Dark Pit jumped into the air and, after raising both bottles over his head, slammed them down onto their heads as if they were bludgeons. The glass shattered and the golden liquid soaked the vampire hunters' heads.

"Dude?! Did you have to do that literally?!" Link shouted at Dark Pit. "You could've given them brain damage!"

Simon and Richter fell back down and collapsed on their backs. Dark Pit landed in front of them, and then all the others except Julius, who was still fighting Death, ran up to the seemingly unconscious Belmont to see if they were all right.

"Did that do it?" asked Alucard.

"I don't think we can tell if they're passed out," replied Dark Pit.

"No thanks to you..." grumbled Link while glaring at him.

Suddenly, Simon and Richter opened their eyes, which were now normal-looking rather than glowing in red, a sign that they likely returned to normal. The Smashers moved out of the way as they stood up, looking at them with great curiosity. Death, Dracula, and Julius noticed this as well and took note of what those two were doing.

Simon and Richter walked in Dracula's direction. "What are they doing...? Did they really change back to normal?" asked Ridley.

Julius looked at the angry faces of his ancestors with a tense expression, hoping that they were indeed back to normal. He was going to say something when suddenly they both shouted out loud, "DRACULA! YOU'LL PAY FOR USING US AS YOUR PUPPETS!"

Hearing this, Dark Pit smirked and said, "Told ya my idea was sound!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Both the horned monster and the wyvern are from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The Frankenstein's Monster, succubus, and Flea Man are recurring monsters that appeared throughout the series.

So anyway, Simon and Richter are finally back to normal! Now the battle against Dracula will finally commence! Will they be able to defeat him before an hour passes? Or will the contest be disturbed in some way? You'll find out soon!

Oh, she's finally called Dark Samus! That should solve all naming confusions between her and the Smashers' Samus!

What do you think of the performances here? Because I couldn't think of a good song for Wario and Waluigi to sing, and also because I've established them as bad singers previously, making them dance was the best way to go, and to a theme from Dance Dance Revlution: Mario Mix! How fitting!

Calamari Inkantation really is awesome! Supposedly in Splatoon, this song has powerful mind-related effects, so I figured I make the audiences want to dance just by hearing this song.

I've only managed to find one vocal remix of Bubblegum K.K., and going by the lyrics, I'd say it's a great choice and did a good job convincing K. Rap and Wario to become friends!

Three more performances before we finally get to Franchouchou's performance, which I dare say is the biggest selling point of this story. In fact, their performance will have its own chapter, and it's the one I've been looking forward to typing since day one! What about the final battle? How will it be handled? Trust me; I've got it all covered, and I'm more than excited to share it with you soon!

I think I'll shed some light on what my future stories will be in the next chapter. Hope you look forward to them!


	13. The Show Draws Close to an End

As I mentioned before, I already have plans for new stories after this one. There are two stories I have in mind, but only one of them will be taken seriously, while the other one is less serious. Both will be Zombie Land Saga stories.

The first one is a lighthearted story detailing the zombie idols trying to catch up with time, finding out and reacting to new things, be it technology or media, that have been made ever since their deaths. When I said this story won't be taken seriously, I mean I won't update it consistently. In fact, I'll only update it when I feel like it and when I come up with ideas. While this may sound like a follow-up to the current story, since I already mentioned here that the idols want to catch up with news more often after the contest is over, this story **IS** **NOT** part of my Smash Bros. series. It will be a stand-alone story not related to anything.

The second story will be a crossover with another series, but what it is I will save for a later time. All I'll say is that the zombie idols, after going through a strange pipe, end up in a completely different world filled with things you can only find in your wildest dreams. As if that isn't enough, they get exposed as zombies right off the bat! But is it possible that the inhabitants of this world will accept them for what they are? This one will be updated seriously, and again, it **IS NOT** part of my Smash Bros. series. In fact, it's not even connected to the story I've mentioned earlier. It will be completely stand-alone.

And yes, Justice of Two Worlds will still be worked on. I haven't given up on that story yet, and I have no intention of abandoning it anytime soon, even if progress on that one isn't fast.

Anyway, I hope you look forward to my new stories after this one is finished! Please enjoy this one in the meantime. We're closing in on the end!

 **Chapter 13  
The Show Draws Close to an End**

* * *

Returning to the backstage, Isabelle and K.K. Slider were both greeted happily by the contestants back there.

"Great singing there! Your voice is as cute as your appearance!" Pauline said to Isabelle, which made the dog blush furiously.

"Awww...! You're embarrassing me!" said Isabelle in response.

Lily went up to K.K. Slider and said, "That was a great song! I really love it! No matter I am a fan of you!"

"I'm glad that you like it!" K.K. Slider said to him. "I hope you do well in your group's performance!"

"You won't be disappointed!" Lily happily said to him.

K.K. Slider then walked away, and as Lily watched him leave, he looked at his hands with a rather depressed look while saying in his head, "You have no idea how much I want to tell you that I am the same person who sang your songs that time..."

Seeing his depressed look, Sakura went up to him and patted his shoulder. "I know what you're thinking, Lily," she said to him. "You really want to let him know the truth about who you are, but... we can't... The world isn't ready to accept what we are yet, if at all..."

"I know... Honestly, even when pappy saw me that time, I actually wanted to let him know the truth, but as much as he loves me, I'm not sure if he can stand seeing what I've become..." said Lily. "And you know we can't hide our identities forever, right? People will eventually suspect something is wrong with us..."

"I'm sure Tatsumi has everything planned out regarding our future, so let's just believe in him and wait!" Sakura said to him.

"And now we have a group of performers hailing from Dream Land!" said Alto Hand. "Let us give it a hand to the Dream Band!"

When they heard this, a group consisting of a Waddle Dee, Waddle Dee, and a Burning Leo grabbed their instruments and rushed out of the room to head for the stage.

Hearing this, Lily's expression changed entirely. "Dream Land! I've always wanted to go there!"

"Actually, I've been there before when I was ten years old," Ai told her.

"Wow! Really? That's great! They say it's the perfect place for people who like cute and happy things!" Lily said to her with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, it's a nice and charming place!" replied Ai with a smile.

"If I remember correctly, the ruler of that country is a penguin, right?" said Sakura.

Ai nodded in response. "Right, its king is indeed a penguin, at least when I was still alive. I even got to see him while there!"

* * *

 _FLASHBACK_

Upon hearing the loud sound of trumpets, the inhabitants of Dream Land immediately parted to the sides in order to form a clear pathway going across the plaza and heading towards the Fountain of Dreams, the source of all dreams in Dream Land. Ten years old Ai was up front among the crowd, standing there with her parents. Curiously, she looked down the pathway to see the arrival of the king, who was on his way to the fountain to, according to some of the folks she heard, give it his blessing.

No sooner afterwards, four Waddle Dees appeared, carrying above their heads a palanquin on which an obese penguin dressed in royal garbs was seated.

It was King Dedede, the supreme ruler of Dream Land.

As Dedede's servants and guards marched down the pathway, some of them playing a slower and more majestic version of his musical theme using trumpets, the commoners at the sides all bowed down in his presence. When the king was passing in front of her, Ai bowed down to show respect as well.

King Dedede was carried to the front of the Fountain of Dreams, and there, the palanquin was set down by the Waddle Dees. After being given a plate containing golden star-shaped confetti, Dedede stepped down from his palanquin to approach the fountain and scatter the confetti into its water, which was his method of blessing the fountain so that it could give people good dreams when they sleep.

He failed to notice a brick on the pavement that wasn't settled down properly and instead sticking up. When his foot hit the raised brick, Dedede let out a cry of shock as he fell forward, going over the side of the fountain and creating quite a splash upon falling into the water.

Everyone had his or her mouths wide open upon seeing what happened to the king in silence, and then the atmosphere was suddenly filled with laughter, as everyone could not help but laugh at the accident that befell their supreme ruler. Even Ai couldn't contain her laughter and laughed just as loudly as everyone else.

Dedede stood up from the water, soaking wet, and spit out a large amount of water from his mouth while glaring at the scene of the laughing crowd before him, clearly not pleased with their reactions. After his servants and guards helped him out of the fountain, he yelled at the top of his voice, "SILENCE!"

 _END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

"All in all, it was quite an experience there!" said Ai as she gave a brief summary of her time at Dream Land when she was alive. "Would love to go there again!"

"We should ask Tatsumi to bring us there next time!" suggested Lily.

"As great as it sounds, I'm not sure if he will take us to different countries without a good reason..." Sakura reminded him. "We only came here because of the contest."

Meanwhile, the three Dream Landers were busy setting up their instruments. The Waddle Dee was setting up a drum set, the Waddle Doo set up his keyboard, and the Burning Leo tuned his electric guitar.

* * *

As he sat on his massive sofa located in his grand living room of his castle, Dedede watched with a proud face at the massive flat screen TV set in front of him, at the back of the room. Meta Knight and several of his servants were also seated around the room, watching the contest.

"Yes, make your country and king proud!" said Dedede as he watched Dream Band prepare themselves on the stage. "Let the whole world know the splendid music that can only be produced in a country where the greatest king of all time lives! I shall personally reward you the best I can once you've return! The better your ranking, the better your reward will be!"

* * *

Dream Band had finally finished setting up their instruments. The Waddle Doo then said to the audience, "Thank you for your patience! We are Dream Band, hailing from Dream Land and blessed by our great King Dedede himself! It is an honor to be able to perform to you all and show you the great talents representing our country! I believe that our king is watching the contest live from his castle even as we speak! Now we shall begin our performance!"

After telling each other that they were ready, the three began playing their music.

 **Performance Begins  
** **Kirby Staff Roll  
** **(Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)**

The trio played an extremely cheerful and upbeat music, but because none of them sang at all, it was clear that their performance was going to be purely musical. Despite this, the audience found the tune to be highly enjoyable to listen to.

* * *

All eyes were on Simon and Richter when they both shouted angrily at Dracula, cursing him for turning them into his puppets. Hearing this, Link said with relief, "Well, I guess that answers that... Good to know they're back to normal! And also without brain damage..."

Julius walked up to Simon and Richter from behind and asked them, "You're both yourself now, aren't you?"

The two vampire hunters turned around to face him. Looking at him from head to toe, Simon said to him, "We're sorry for the trouble we've caused..."

"So you remember everything?" asked Julius.

Richter nodded. "Yes, everything, from the moment we were resurrected and throughout the entirety of being used by Dracula."

"We were completely aware of everything happened, but no matter how hard we struggled, there was nothing we could do to control our actions," Simon told Julius. "We are terribly sorry for almost killing you..."

"Nah, I wouldn't be a Belmont if I nearly got killed. Don't sweat it!" Julius said to him while waving his hand. "Good to know that my great grandparents are back to normal!"

Richter chuckled on hearing that. "Ha! Great grandparents! Do I look that old to you?"

"Yeah, family reunion's happy and all, but we can save the party for until we get rid of those two," said Ganondorf as he stepped up to them while eyeing Dracula and Death.

Death floated next to Dracula, who had a look of rage and disappointment as he watched the good guys before him, and the grim reaper asked him, "This is such a misfortune, master. All your hard work has come to waste!"

"Indeed, such a disappointment... Words cannot describe how enraged I am!" said Dracula.

"What are you orders next, my lord?" Death asked him.

"We have come this far now, so we might as well finish things up and leave no survivors," said Dracula. "My patience is already running thin!"

Pointing at the vampire, Simon said while swinging his whip in circles, "This is over, Dracula! Your reign of terror ends here!"

"It's payback time!" said Richter as he stretched his whip.

"I look forward to beating you up!" said Ganondorf while punching his palm.

All the good guys gathered before Dracula, all of them in fighting stances. Dracula didn't look fazed, however, and with a swing of his arm, a wall of fire suddenly appeared before all of them, much to their surprise. "You think you can intimidate us with this?" asked Link after recovering from his shock.

All of a sudden, Dracula appeared behind him without a warning. Link was able to detect his presence in time and jump out of the way before the vampire could swing his claws at him. "Getting sneaky, huh?" said the Hylian. "You're asking for it!"

 **BGM: Dance of Illusions (Castlevania: Dracula X)**

Link charged at Dracula and swung his sword, but to his surprise, the vampire easily caught it with two fingers and stopped the momentum completely. With a flick of his hand, he was able to send the Hylian flying.

Simon went next, swinging his whip at Dracula. Once again, Dracula caught the tip of the whip with no effort. "You think you can take on me with a normal whip? the vampire asked him. Yanking the whip, he pulled Simon right into him and then punched him away in the guts. Simon was able to endure the punch and come to a skidding stop on his feet.

Richter approached Dracula next, jumping at him with his whip over his head. At the same time, Ridley got behind Ganondorf and swung a hand full of purple fire down onto him. Dracula disappeared magically, however, so Ridley ended up striking empty air and then getting hit over the head by Richter's whip. "Sorry..." the vampire hunter said to him.

Everyone watched as Dracula appeared some distance away from them and then held out one hand. A fire tornado appeared on his palm. He threw it onto the pavement, and the fire tornado grew in size as it moved towards their direction in a zigzagging path.

Seeing an attack made of fire approaching, Greninja responded by shooting a large amount of water from his mouth at it. The water was caught up in the fire tornado and swirled around it, and a few seconds later, it evaporated completely, which showed how hot the fire was, much to the Pokemon's surprise.

"I'll deal with that!" Julius said as he took out a bottle of blue water. "Hydro Storm!" His hand glowed as he pulled it back before flinging the bottle onto the pavement. A large amount of water burst out of the bottle as a result, more so than there should be inside the container, and the water became a large waterspout that rivaled the fire tornado in no time.

"Whoa?! How'd he do that?!" asked Link in surprise.

"Classic Belmont magic!" replied Richter with a smirk.

The waterspout headed towards the fire tornado, and when the two collided, the waterspout overcame it with little difficulty. The fire tornado was doused in a few seconds, and then the waterspout continued heading for Dracula, who remained fearless as the attack came closer and closer to him.

Death suddenly appeared before the waterspout, and with a swing of his scythe, he unleashed a large energy blade that cleaved the waterspout in two, causing the whole thing to disappear as a result. Death swung his scythe again, this time aiming an energy blade at the Smashers.

Dark Pit got in front of the approaching projectile and held up a small shield that glowed brightly to create a larger energy shield before it. The energy blade came in contact with the energy shield and bounced back to Death, who flew out of the way fast, while Dracula warped to safety.

"Insolence!" said Death angrily as he dived at Dark Pit with his scythe pulled back. He was interrupted when Bayonetta leaped at him and kicked him across the face and sent him tumbling onto the pavement. Giving the grim reaper no time to do anything, Bayonetta fired rapidly at him from her guns, blasting him in various parts of the body and pushing him back with each shot.

She was suddenly attacked by Dracula from the side. The vampire caught her by the neck and slammed her onto the pavement hard, and then the temperature of his hand increased, burning the umbra witch in the skin, causing her to cry in pain. Dark Pit charged at Dracula to attack him and also help her, but the vampire warped away before he got stabbed by the angel's swords. "Darn it! This is getting annoying!" said Dark Pit angrily while looking around for the vampire's whereabouts.

Everyone looked into the air to see Dracula appear there. "Time for you all to perish!" said Dracula as he spread out his arms and cape, causing a large amount of fireballs to materialize before him and rain down.

"Incoming!" shouted Link as he hid himself himself his shield for safety. The others did their best they could to dodge the fireballs, and thanks to using observation aura, they were able to tell where the fireballs would rain down from and dodge them in time.

In the end, everyone was able to survive the onslaught of fireballs. Dracula looked down at the Smashers as they stopped to catch their breaths from running around and said, "Don't think you can defeat me so easily! I still have more monsters back in the castle waiting to come through the mirror, and once..."

He was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. Everyone turned to look at the stage to see Dark Samus standing next to the Mirror of Fate, which was now shattered into pieces scattered across the floor. She gave a thumb up in response to people staring at her.

Turning back to Dracula, Ridley asked him, "You were saying...?"

"This changes nothing!" said the vampire in frustration and anger. "I will still destroy you all!"

 **Theme Ends**

* * *

 **Performance Ends**

Dream Band's performance had ended, and the audience enjoyed it.

Back in Dream Land, Dedede boasted happily about the music. "Ha! That's what I call a music befitting my nation! I'd be surprised if that doesn't win any awards!"

Meanwhile, Alto Hand returned on stage and wasted no time in introducing the next contestant after congratulating Dream Band for their wonderful performance.

The next performer was Pauline and her band of musicians. The audience cheered for her as she came on stage and greeted everybody. Seeing her, Mario said to Peach, "I know Pauline. We studied in certain classes togetha back in college."

"Really?" said Peach in response.

Mario nodded. "I have to admit. She wuz my first love, but in da end, things didn't quite work-a out, so we went separate ways. Other than a few phone calls, we haven't met-a each other... until now!"

"Wow! Must be great to unexpectedly meet an old friend!" Peach said to her. "You should find the time to meet her afterwards!"

After seeing that her band was ready, Pauline turned to the audience and got her microphone ready.

 **Performance Begings  
** **Jump Up, Superstar!  
** **(Super Mario Odyssey)**

The band started playing, so Pauline began singing:

 _Here we go, off the rails  
Don't you know it's time to raise our sails  
It's freedom like you never knew_

 _Don't need bags, or a pass  
Say the word I'll be there in a flash  
You could say my hat is off to you_

 _Oh we can zoom  
All the way to the moon  
From this great wide wacky world  
Jump with me, grab coins with me  
Oh yeah!_

 _It's time to jump up in the air (Jump up in the air)  
Jump up, don't be scared (Jump up, don't be scared)  
Jump up and your cares will soar away  
And if the dark clouds start to swirl (Dark clouds start to swirl)  
Don't fear, don't shed a tear, 'cause  
I'll be your 1UP girl_

 _So let's all jump up super high (Jump up super high)  
High up in the sky (High up in the sky)  
There's no power-up like dancing  
You know that you're my superstar (You're my superstar)  
No one else can take me this far  
I'm flipping the switch  
Get ready for this  
Oh, let's do the odyssey_

As the cheerful singing went on, the audience clapped their hands and waved their glow sticks in the air. Everyone was enjoying this wonderful song, and like with Calamari Inkantation, they found themselves performing jigs to this tune.

"Pauline always had a talent for music back then!" Mario told Peach. "I feel happy that-a she finally found the career she wants!"

"On top of that, she's running for mayor of New York City too!" added Peach. "I'm sure after this wonderful performance, she will get a lot of votes!"

 _Odyssey, ya see! (x7)  
Odyssey, odyssey!_

 _Spin the wheel, take a chance  
Every journey starts a new romance  
A new world's calling out to you  
_ _Take a turn, off the path  
Find a new addition to the cast  
You know that any captain needs a crew_

 _Take it in stride  
As you move side to side  
They're just different points of view  
Jump with me, grab coins with me  
Oh yeah!_

 _Come on and jump up in the air (Jump up in the air)  
Jump without a care (Jump without a care)  
Jump up 'cause you know that I'll be there  
And if you find you're short on joy (Find you're short on joy)  
Don't fret, just don't forget that  
You're still our 1UP boy_

 _So go on straighten up your cap (Straighten up your cap)  
Let your toes begin to tap (Toes begin to tap)  
This rhythm is a power 'shroom  
Don't forget you're the superstar (You're the superstar)  
No one else can make it this far  
Put a comb through that 'stache  
Now you've got panache  
Oh, let's do the odyssey_

K. Rap and Wario, with their hands still on each other's shoulders, waved their bodies left and right as they listened to the music.

"Jump up in the air!" exclaimed Barney as he jumped up while throwing his arms up high.

"Yay! Jump up!" exclaimed Lily, following his movements. Tae also did the same while letting out a loud, cheerful-sounding cry.

 _It's time to jump up in the air (Jump up in the air)  
Jump up, don't be scared (Jump up, don't be scared)  
Jump up and your cares will soar away  
And if the dark clouds start to swirl (Dark clouds start to swirl)  
Don't fear, don't shed a tear, 'cause  
I'll be your 1UP girl_

 _Now listen all you boys and girls (All you boys and girls)  
All around the world (All around the world)  
Don't be afraid to get up and move  
You know that we're all superstars (We're all superstars)  
We're the ones who made it this far  
Put a smile on that face  
There's no time to waste  
So, let's do the odyssey_

 **Performance Ends**

Pauline struck a pose as she finished her singing, and the entire place was filled with a huge round of applause, perhaps the loudest one yet.

"AWESOME!"

"BRAVO!"

"YOU ARE MY 1-UP GIRL!"

Mario also shouted at Pauline, "YOU DID-A WELL, MY OLD-A FRIEND!"

Backstage, everyone was clapping his or her hands loudly and cheerfully as well. "Haha! That's what a call a superstar's performance!" said K. Rap happily.

"I'm glad we both agree to this!" Wario said to him.

"Wow! That was really good!" commented Junko. "What do you think, Ai?"

"It really is splendid!" agreed Ai with a nod. "Tatsumi said she was trying to become mayor, right? I'm sure she's earned her spot after this!"

Pauline and her band reentered the waiting room and was immediately showered with a large amount of praise. "Thank you very much!" she happily said to them. "I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

"I wish you the best of luck in your mayoral election!" Azura said to her.

"Thank you for your support!" Pauline said to her. "I'll do my best to make New York a better place once I become mayor! And I'm sure you're up next, right?" Azura nodded in response. "Then I hope you do your best!" She then turned to Franchouchou, who were looking at her with smiles on their faces. "And you girls are last. I'm sure you're impatient to go on stage and show off your talents!"

"Yes! We're looking forward to this very much!" Sakura told her.

"Then best of luck out there! Amaze the audience with all you've got! Music is what makes this world goes around and brings us together!" Pauline said to her with a wink.

Azura then heard Alto Hand calling out her name, so the blue-haired woman left for the stage. As she appeared on stage, she received a large amount of applause. Kamui could be seen down in front of stage, waving at her. "Azura! You can do it! Show everyone your lovely voice!" the vice admiral called out to her.

"That must be Miss Kamui's friend," brought up Pit.

"Wow! She's beautiful!" commented Peach.

"Indeed!" said Luigi, who was looking at Azura with a blushing face and hearts floating around above his head.

Rather than using a microphone, Azura had a miniature speaker attached to her ear leading to her mouth. When she spoke, the volume was the same as all those who used a microphone, "Thank you for all your support! It is an honor for me to on stage to sing to you all! The name of my song is called Lost in Thoughts All Alone. It is a peaceful melody that I have put a lot effort into composing. May this song soothe your soul and bring peace to your mind!"

 **Performance Begins  
Lost in Thoughts All Alone  
(Fire Emblem Fates)**

Music began to play, and Azura, with her eyes closed and hands clasped in front of herself, opened her mouth to sing:

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_  
 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach,_  
 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_  
 _The path is yours to climb._

 _In the white light, a hand reaches through;_  
 _A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two_  
 _Waking dreams fade away,_  
 _Embrace the brand-new day._

 _Sing with me a song of birthrights and love_  
 _The light scatters to the sky above._  
 _Dawn breaks through the gloom, white as a bone_  
 _Lost in thoughts all alone_

Whereas the previous songs were upbeat and cheerful, this one was slow-paced and calming. Despite this, the audience found it to be equally good like all the others. One could say that after a series of fast-paced music, it was time for a slower-paced one so that they could find relaxation.

Daisy closed her eyes and laid back against her throne, not to mention finding herself humming along with the song.

"What a beautiful voice!" said Palutena with her eyes closed. "I feel like my mind is cleansed of all negative thoughts!"

"Me too...!" said Luigi, still looking at Azura with a lovey-dovey face.

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_  
 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach,_  
 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_  
 _The path is yours to climb._

 _Embrace the dark you call a home,_  
 _Gaze upon an empty, white throne_  
 _A legacy of lies,_  
 _A familiar disguise._

 _Sing with me a song of conquest and fate_  
 _The black pillar cracks beneath its weight_  
 _Night breaks through the day, hard as a stone_  
 _Lost in thoughts all alone._

 _The path you walk on belongs to destiny, just let it flow_  
 _All of your joy and your pain will fall like the tide, let it flow._

 _Life is not just filled with happiness, nor sorrow_  
 _Even the thorn in your heart, in time it may become a rose._

Placing a hand on her face, Yuugiri listened to the song with her eyes closed and a peaceful-looking smile on her face. "For some reason, I feel like this song connects to me very well! Is it the tune? Or perhaps the lyrics?"

"I guess it reminds you of your past?" Saki asked her.

Yuugiri shrugged. "Who knows, though I like to think that!"

 _A burdened heart sinks into the ground_  
 _A veil falls away without a sound_  
 _Not day nor night, wrong nor right_  
 _For truth and peace you fight._

 _Sing with me a song of silence and blood_  
 _The rain falls, but can't wash away the mud_  
 _Within my ancient heart dwells madness and pride_  
 _Can no one hear my cry?_

 _In endless dreams, countless realms collide,_  
 _Hope falls only to rise like the changing tide_  
 _But all dreams come to an end,_  
 _Just whispers on the wind._

 _Sing with me one last time, for light's sacrifice,_  
 _Endless dawn came but not without a price,_  
 _Lost in the waves there glimmers, a pale blue stone._  
 _I think of you, all alone._

 _You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek_  
 _Life beyond the shore just out of reach,_  
 _Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time_  
 _The path is yours to climb._

 _You are the ocean's gray waves._

 **Performance Ends**

With that, Azura stopped singing. Like with all the other performances, there was a large amount of clapping and cheering.

"Bravo! You did well! Azura!" Kamui called out to the singer.

"That was awesome! I love it!" Daisy called out to her.

"I love you!" shouted out Luigi. While his comrades heard him, they assumed that he meant liking her like how fans love their favorite celebrities and not an actual romantic affection. In the case of Luigi though, both of them were true.

* * *

 **BGM: Dance of Illusions (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow)**

The battle against Dracula raged on. Despite several people facing him at once, Dracula proved to be a formidable opponent who was able to hold his own against all of them and seemingly showing no signs of fatigue.

Alucard and Dracula clashed furiously, trading punches and claw swipes at each other and creating shockwaves with each hit. "You good-for-nothing son!" Dracula angrily said to him. "I am ashamed that I am your father!"

"And I am ashamed to have you as my father!" Alucard said to him, sounding equally mad. "Mother would surely be ashamed of you as well! She would never wanted you to become like this!"

"She would be glad that I am avenging her! This would be exactly what she would wants!" Dracula shouted back. In the midst of trading blows with Alucard, Dracula released a blast of fire from his hand that blew Alucard backwards.

Ganondorf rushed forward immediately after that and threw a fist full of dark energy at Dracula, but he caught it with his hand. "I sense dark powers within you! Why do you use it for good?" Dracula asked him.

"Crime doesn't pay! I've learned it the hard way!" Ganondorf told him. The two struggled against each other, and then Ganondorf suddenly raised his leg, hitting Dracula in the guts hard with his knee and making him recoil in pain. Wasting no time, the Gerudo slammed his other fist into Dracula's chest hard and sent him flying back, but the vampire came to a stop on both feet.

Lucario went for Dracula next, trying to hit him with a flying kick. Dracula easily stepped out of the way, but Lucario kept on trying to hit him, only to miss every time. Dracula eventually caught his hand, but Lucario then pulled off an unexpected move of releasing long, sharp claws from his hand, stabbing Dracula's hand. The vampire cried in pain while pulling back, thus giving Lucario the opportunity to attack him with a barrage of super fast punches, each hit creating an explosion of blue aura.

Dracula was sent tumbling backwards by the last hit, but he was able to get back up again shortly afterwards and glared angrily at the Pokemon. A missile was suddenly fired at him by Dark Samus from the side, but much to the latter's surprise, the vampire easily caught it with his bare hand.

Flinging the missile to the side and letting it explode, he rushed up to Dark Samus at a fast speed and slammed his claws into her hard and fast. Fortunately for Dark Samus, her armor was strong enough to block the blow, but she was sent flying quite a distance as a result.

Ridley suddenly swooped at Dracula, knocking him onto the pavement. Before the latter could get up, Ridley got onto him and slammed his claws onto him over and over mercilessly. Seeing this, Death was going to rush over to help Dracula, but he was stopped when Simon swung his whip at him from behind and wrapped it around his neck. With a powerful yank, Simon pulled back the grim reaper and slammed him onto the pavement hard.

Dracula eventually caught both of Ridley's hands and let out a cry of anger as he flung him to the side. Ridley landed on both feet and glared at Dracula as the latter stood up and glared at him as well.

Meanwhile, Julius asked Alucard, "How much time until this realm disappears?"

Looking at his watch, Alucard, "I'm afraid there isn't much time left... Only about five minutes left..."

"Darn! We've been fighting him for this long already?!" said Julius in disbelief. "Can we even beat him before time is up?"

"The best course of action would be to move the battlefield to a distant location," suggested Alucard.

Dracula and Ridley cried angrily as they charged at each other and clashed their hands against each other. As they pushed each other back and forth, Richter jumped at Dracula from behind and grabbed onto his back before stabbing him in the neck with a knife. The vampire cried in pain while thrashing around to shake him off, though Richter got off him by himself. Ridley used this opportunity to thrust his tail into Dracula, impaling him through the guts.

As if that wasn't enough, Link approached Dracula and slashed him in the waist. The vampire hurriedly moved away from his attackers and then created a wall of fire to keep them away. Bayonetta, however, jumped high into the air and over the fire, and while she was going over him, she fired straight downwards. Dracula ran to the side to avoid getting shot and turned to look at her as she landed.

The vampire immediately rushed at her with his arm outstretched. Bayonetta smirked as he got close, and all of a sudden, a purple aura in the likeliness of a clock appeared around her. When Dracula was exposed to this aura, his movement slowed down, much to his surprise. Bayonetta smiled "evilly" before shooting Dracula multiple times, not to mention punching and kicking him all over the body until she finally summoned a giant fist to punch him.

Because of the slowed down time, Dracula's reaction was slowed, so he moved back in slow motion from getting hit over and over. When the effect of this time-slowing spell ended, the vampire shot backwards and tumbled along the pavement violently, this time coming to a stop on his back.

Running up to the umbra witch, Link asked her, "Wow! How'd you do that?"

"Witch Time!" Bayonetta replied with a smile.

"ENOUGH! I'M ENDING ALL OF YOU HERE AND NOW!" Dracula shouted as he held out both his hands. A large amount of heat gathered together in front of his palm, and then in just a few seconds, a large ball of fire twice the size of him was created.

"Watch out! That's one of his most powerful attacks!" Richter warned everyone. "Don't get hit by it at all costs!"

"None of you are escaping this alive!" shouted Dracula as he held the massive fireball over his head and floated high into the air. "I'd like to see you escape this unscathed!" He then flung the fireball at a downward angle.

Just as everyone was wondering what to, Ridley looked straight at the fireball, took a deep breath, and then let out a ear-piercing scream. In doing so, a large red laser beam was shot out of his mouth, colliding with the fireball with such a force that the latter was stopped in its tracks.

The others were shocked by the winged creature's attack and how it was able to counter the fireball. "What in the?!" said Simon in shock.

"I didn't see that coming!" commented Link.

Within second, the laser beam pierced through through the fireball, completely obliterating it, much to Dracula's surprise. The vampire was so shocked by this that he failed to avoid the incoming beam attack and was engulfed by it. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"LORD DRACULA!" gasped Death upon seeing his master receiving a powerful blow.

At the same time, Alucard looked at his watch and shouted, "Everyone! Get to the sidelines quick! The realm's time is up!"

 **Theme Ends**

* * *

"And now we finally come to the last performance of today!" Alto Hand said to the audience. "Hailing from Japan, we have the pop idol group who made their name known a few months ago! Let us give it a hand to Franchouchou!"

The audience went wild as Alto Hand got out of the way to let the seven zombie idols come on stage. When they appeared on stage, even their fans who were watching the show live in other nations went wild.

Their fans in Saga, Japan, cheered loudly at the sight of seeing their favorite idol group appearing on stage.

Within Bowser's Castle, Bowser Jr. and Koopalings jumped up and down with joy, knowing that their favorite idols were finally going to perform. "YES! THEY'RE HERE! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!" exclaimed Iggy while pointing at the TV.

As the zombie idols took the center of the stage and waved happily at the cheering audience, Kotaro was seen standing at the side of the stage, looking at them with arms crossed and a smile on his face. "Good luck, you lot!"

Taking her microphone and approaching the center of the stage, Saki said out loud to the audience, "Sorry to keep you all waiting! We are Franchouchou, hailing from Saga of Japan!"

There were loud cheers when she said that, and some of the people in the audience could be heard chanting their team names over and over.

"This is our first time performing overseas, and we are extremely excitedly to show you what we've got! I hope you all will enjoy our performance! It's the last one for tonight, so we guarantee that we're going to end things off with a bang!" continued Saki loudly.

As soon as she finished saying that, what could be said to a literal bang happened in the form of the sound crashing coming from the side. This shocked everyone, and all eyes turned to the side to see what happened.

Dust was floating into the air as Dracula stood up from the crater he created when he struck the pavement hard, while the Smashers stood before him, surprised that he was still up on his feet after getting blown high into the air by Ridley's laser attack and falling back down with a powerful crash.

The appearance of these people who were originally nowhere to be seen surprised everyone. The sight of Death floating in the air shocked everyone the most. Even in a world where all sorts of odd-looking beings coexist, a grim reaper like Death was still considered too terrifying for people to look at.

Conversation stirred up among the crowd because of this.

"What's happening?!"

"Where did those people pop out from?!"

"What are they doing?"

"Why is that cloaked guy so tall and pale?"

"Is that a ghost floating in the air?!"

The Smashers who were among the audiences had looks of shock on their faces as well. "They're back... and not in a good way too..." said Luigi.

"They didn't defeat Dracula in time...?" asked Pit in disbelief.

Julius looked at the surprised audiences and also at the shocked looks of Franchouchou up on stage. "Darn it..." he angrily cursed.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Wait, what? Dracula isn't defeated yet, and Franchouchou is just about to begin their performance, but the artificial realm has already disappeared! What's going to happen next? I hope you look forward to the next chapter to find out!

As for the music in this chapter... Not much to say about the Kirby Staff Roll remix from Smash Bros. Ultimate other than that it's a great and catchy theme that I feel compelled to put into this chapter. It also gives me a reason to throw in King Dedede. Not that I actually wanted him to be in it for any reason in the first place...

I'm sure all of you saw it coming when Pauline was going to be in the contest. Jump Up Superstar is really the only answer to what she was going to sing. It's a great theme! Lost in Thoughts All Lone is another great theme worth checking out too!


	14. The Show Must Go on

I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter... The Dream Band members were chosen as such because it is actually a reference to the sound test screen of Kirby: Star Allies. When you enter that game's sound test, you see Kirby, a Waddle Doo, a Waddle Dee, and a Burning Leo performing music in the background.

 **Chapter 14  
The Show Must Go on**

* * *

The appearance of Dracula and the people he was fighting surprised all those who were watching the show. Even what was happening was caught on camera and shown live all over the world.

* * *

Catching a glimpse of their own comrades, the Smashers back at Smash Mansion stood up in surprise and closed in on their television with looks of surprise. Duck and Hunt got so close to the television they were blocking everyone's view, so Bowser told them to get out of the way.

"Hey! It's our folks!" pointed out Mr. Game & Watch. "What are they doing there? I mean... why do they look like they're fighting whoever that guy is instead of watching the show?"

"That person looks familiar..." said Bowser, paying close attention to Dracula.

* * *

Back at the contest area, the crowd were talking among each other what was happening. Kamui, unsure what it was about, had the feeling that danger was rising, so she had her chainsaw-like sword out and ready to use. The sight of her pulling out her weapon made the audience feel uneasy, because if a guard takes out his weapon, it means danger was on the rise.

However, there were no one as worried and scared as Franchouchou at the moment, as they knew well what it was all about and what it might bring.

"That guy's still alive?!" said Saki in shock.

"No... Please... No..." said Sakura in her head. "Please don't let anything bad happen... I don't want our performance to be interrupted!"

Alto Hand appeared on stage and said out loud, "What on earth is happening?! Nobody told me anything about this! Is this part of the show or what?!"

Dracula turned to looked at the surprised audiences and then said to the Smashers, "This is what you are trying to protect, right? This miserable show full of nothing but cacophony!"

"Cacophony? How about you just say you have no sense of music instead?!" Link said to him, sounding offended.

"I thought you would appreciate something like this more, because from what I know, you are a man of art and musical culture," Julius said to the vampire.

"I am, but the golden days of fine art and music are long gone! Nowadays, it's nothing but fake imitations made up by those who have no taste in arts!" replied Dracula.

"Someone can't let go of the past..." said Bayonetta in response.

"If there's anything I do not like," said Dracula as he held up his hand, from which a ball of fire began being formed, "I will destroy it!" Without saying anything else, he pointed said hand at the audience and shot the fireball, which grew in size as it flew towards them. When the audiences saw it coming, they were horrified.

However, Palutena warped in front of the projectile in a blink of an eye and created a barrier that deflected the fireball back to Dracula, who easily dissipated it with a swing of his hand. "Harming innocent civilians is a big no in my book so long as I'm around!" the goddess said to him with a serious expression.

Even though the audiences were still confuse about what was going on, Dracula attempting to attack them was more enough to tell them that this wasn't anything good, and staying any longer would mean danger for their lives. As a result, many of them started panicking and tried to escape from the place. Cries of terror filled the air, and the scene was slowly erupting into chaos.

The Smashers among the audiences were being pushed left and right by panicking and fleeing audience. "Mamamia!" cried Mario.

"I think we should get out of here as well!" suggested Luigi.

"I don't know which way is which!" cried Yoshi while hugging Piranha.

Unfortunately for Jigglypuff, she was being trampled over and over, but thanks to her soft and flexible body, it wasn't fatal to her, though it was still painful. "Jiggly! Jiggly! Don't step Jigglypuff!"

Daisy was looking around in confusion. "What...?! What is happening?!"

"Princess! For your safety, you should flee as well!" one of the blue Toads said to her.

"I'm not leaving until I get an answer to things!" the princess told him angrily.

Kamui held out her hands to the panicking crowd and loudly shouted, "Everyone! Please don't panic! You'll hurt yourselves if you panic like this! We will have everything under control!"

On the stage, Franchouchou wasn't looking in shock at the audience going wild trying to get out of the place. In fact, some of them were beginning to cry, especially Sakura. Falling to her knees, the zombie idol said, "No... This... This is what I feared...!" Her companions saw her lamenting, but as much as they wanted to comfort her, even they didn't know what to say or do anything to make the situation better.

Ridley looked at the panicking crowd with a look of shock, and then his eyes shifted to the idols on the stage. Noticing their shocked and saddened looks, especially Sakura's, the winged creature's expression turned to anger. After gritting his teeth angrily for a few seconds, he took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his voice, "EVERYONE! STOP RUNNING AND STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

His voice was so loud that everyone immediately stopped what he or she was doing and turned to look at the winged creature. Even the Smashers who were fighting Dracula were surprised by his sudden shouting.

Ridley breathed heavily multiple times after the shouting, and then he took off into the air and flew towards the stage, landing in front of the surprised zombie idols. Facing the audience, who were all looking at him, he said out loud, "Everyone! Why are you running? Didn't you call come here to see the show to the end? Aren't you looking forward to the last performance? Why, then, are you running and trying to miss out the grand finale? Just because some douchebag tried to kill you all, even though his attempt messed up?"

"Who... Who is that person?" Kamui wondered as she looked at Ridley.

* * *

Backstage, the contestants were equally confused and shocked about the sudden turn of events, even more so when the purple winged creature suddenly shouted for everyone to stay behind.

Noticing that this creature looked familiar, K. Rap raised his shades and leaned closer to the TV to get a better look at him. "Isn't that Ridley? He's still alive?!"

* * *

Back in Smash Mansion, the Smashers were equally surprised by the appearance of Ridley, though they would have been surprised even more if it weren't for their comrades telling them about this through LINE beforehand.

Pointing at the screen, Fox said, "He must be that Ridley from the parallel universe our friends told us about!"

"They're right! They are telling the truth!" said Bowser.

"I think the others might want to see this, so I'll tell them about it," said Captain Falcon before rushing out of the living room and going upstairs to tell the others about this.

Samus, like everyone else, was looking at the screen in surprise and disbelief. "So that's the Ridley from the other world they told me about..."

* * *

"The person you see standing there is Count Dracula, who I think you don't need any introduction!" Ridley said to the audience while pointing at the vampire. This shocked everyone, and conversation regarding what he said soon erupted among them all. "For all of you who thought he was a myth, I can assure you now that he is very real! And he was trying to sabotage this contest the whole time, but me and friends had been attempting to stop him!

"We tried to keep everything a secret, but admittedly, we failed, and we apologize for that! However, this does not mean it has to be the end! We can still take him down!"

Ridley stopped for a while, and then he was reminded of the Green King from his universe and what he said. Looking at audience again, he said, "A man once told me... happiness and justice is to be able to do whatever you want... without the care of what others think, even if harm befalls them! If death and destruction can make you happy, then you should pursue it! I SAY THAT IS COMPLETE BULLS***!"

Pointing at Dracula again, he continued, "They way I see it, that guy over there believes what he is doing is justice and will bring him happiness! I say that happiness is not only satisfying yourself, but also making sure that people around you are happy as well! Happiness is not selfish! It should be shared among everyone! Happiness that brings harm to others and satisfies only yourself is wrong and should not be tolerated! Therefore, we must NOT let Dracula obtain his twisted meaning of happiness!"

Some of the good guys were still confused about where he was getting at. "What is he trying to say?" asked Richter. "Shouldn't the lives of the people be more important than entertainment now?"

"I can understand where he is getting at somewhat, but let's listen to him to the end first," suggested Simon.

Ridley then turned to look at the zombie idols and said to them, "Tell me! Do you girls want to perform, despite knowing the current situation? Tell me! Do you want to perform?!"

The zombie idols looked at each other in response for a few seconds before shifting their eyes to Sakura, who was still down on her knees. Sakura remained silent and unsure for a few seconds, but then a look of determination appeared on her face as she stood up and said out loud into her microphone, "Yes! We want to perform to the end, no matter what!"

Pointing at her, Ridley said, "GOOD! That's the answer I want to hear! Then sing! Sing out loud! Sing for the world to hear! Show them your dance moves! Grab their attentions! Let them know that no matter what happens, idols like you will continue to bring happiness to their hearts! Do what you all are meant to be doing! Don't let anything that is happening now stand in your way! YOUR SONG IS **THE SONG OF LIGHT** THAT WILL PIERCE THIS DARKNESS, AND NOBODY CAN STOP IT!"

"YES! SING!" shouted Daisy as she stood up on her throne, her behavior grabbing everyone's attention. "I didn't come this far just to see the performance get interrupted! I want to see and hear you all sing!"

"Right! Keep-a on performing!" shouted Mario, which made everyone look at him. "Everything will be just-a fine! I trust-a in my friends to protect you all while you perform!"

"Jigglypuff protect you from bad guy! Franchouchou must sing!" shouted Jigglypuff as well.

Slowly, more and more people in the audience began shouting the same thing.

"Keep the performance going! I want to hear you sing!"

"Don't stop! Keep on going!"

"I can't sleep if I don't watch this contest to the end!"

"I don't care what happens! Keep on performing! The show must go on!" shouted Blue.

More and more people joined, and soon, almost everyone was clamoring for Franchouchou to perform, no matter the circumstances. "I can't believe it..." said Ai in disbelief. "Everyone... actually wants us to continue!"

"Isn't that a good thing? It means the people really like us!" said Lily happily.

Alto Hand, from the side of the stage, said, "What in the world?! The show can't go on in this condition!" He was going to go out on stage to say something, but Kotaro stopped him by touching his side to grab his attention. The Hand turned to look at the producer, who simply shook his head, as if telling him not to interfere.

The Smashers who were fighting Dracula were amazed that the people, who were originally in great panic and trying to run, were now all rooting for Franchouchou to keep on performing. In fact, those who ran away ended up coming back to root for them. Even Dracula and Death were surprised by this turn of events.

"Huh! That guy sure a way with words!" said Ganondorf, looking at Ridley with a smirk.

As Simon and Richter looked at those on stage, they sensed that something wasn't right. Richter said, "The aura I'm getting from those girls... It's like..." But before he could finish, Julius interrupted him by touching his shoulder and also Simon's. They turned to look at their descendant, who shook his head, as if telling them not to say anything more. Thinking that he knows better than them about the current situation, they decided to keep their mouths shut.

Meanwhile, the crowd continued to shout for Franchouchou to perform nonstop. Ridley said to the zombie idols, "All right! Pretend that none of this happened and perform like you are supposed to! We will keep Dracula busy and make sure that he doesn't interfere with you folks! You have my word! If I break my promise, I'll gladly take my own life!"

"We believe in you, mister!" Sakura said to him with a look on confidence. "We'll definitely perform to the end, and we believe you will protect us!"

"Yeah! You're my most favorite person in the world already! That was one heck of a speech you gave just now!" Saki said to Ridley.

"Well then, good luck to you all!" Ridley said to them while giving them a thumbs up. "Leave the rest to us!" He then took flight and returned to where he originally was, standing among the good guys who were facing Dracula.

Suddenly, there was a bright glow, and everyone looked up to in surprise to see that there was a golden barrier surrounding them, separating them from Dracula. Pit, recognizing this handiwork, turned to Palutena to see that the goddess had her staff raised into the air, and the orb at the top of it was glowing. "Goddess Palutena!" he called out to her.

Looking at the audience, Palutena said, "Don't worry, everyone! I've set up a barrier that will protect you from the outside, so rest assure that Dracula won't be able to hurt you! You can go outside from in here, so please be careful not to fall out!"

Not impressed with what was happening, Dracula said to the good guys, "You think you can protect everyone from me and keep the show going? You are all fools to think this!"

"Says the person who got beaten up by us!" Dark Pit said to him with arms crossed. "I thought you were supposed to be as powerful as the Great Powers of Tooneria."

"Give him a break," Link said to him. "He's fighting so many people at once. I'm sure even a Great Power will have a hard time trying to hold his own against so many powerful foes at once."

"You have not seen anything yet!" Dracula angrily said to them. "I have yet to show you my full power!"

"Lord Dracula!" Death said to the vampire as he flew above him. "Please allow me to lend you my power! With our powers combined, we will be able to destroy all those oppose us!"

"Do it, Death! It is time to show them our true power!" said Dracula.

"As you wish, my lord!" said Death. He then held up his scythe, and then his body glowed with bright blue light. Eventually, a pillar of light appeared around Death and Dracula, and they both became engulfed by the brightness of it so that they could no longer be seen.

"What's happening to them?! asked Link in surprise.

"I sense a huge surge in aura...!" said Lucario, looking worried. "Dracula's strength is increasing drastically!"

The pillar of blue light gradually grew in size, all the while slowly turning purple. When the pillar of light finally disappeared, in place of Dracula and Death was a towering monster standing about five-stories tall.

The monster was black from head to toe, though there were also purple stripes seen on certain parts of it. Its head resembled that of a skull, and a pair of bull-like horns were growing out of its top, pointing towards the front. In addition to a pair of large, clawed hands, there were also four large tentacles with red tips growing out of its back, waving around as if they had lives of their own. Perhaps the most striking feature of the monster was that it had a third eye, and a large one at that, growing out of its chest.

Needless, the monster that was the fusion between Death and Dracula shocked everyone. "I've never seen Dracula in this form before!" said Simon in shock.

"I can tell that this won't be easy...!" commented Julius.

"Well, looks like things are going to become more fun!" said Bayonetta, who wasn't nervous at all and instead looks interested.

"You know," Ganondorf said to the monster as purple energy became to seep out of his body, "you're not the only person here with a monstrous transformation like that. If you need a monster to fight a monster, then look no further!" In an instant, the Gerudo "exploded" in a burst of purple smoke, much to the surprise of everyone.

When the smoke cleared away, a towering pig-like monster with bull horns was seen standing place of Ganondorf, letting out a loud roar that sounded more like a monstrous squeal. Other than the Smashers, everyone else was shocked by this sudden transformation that came out of nowhere.

"Well, look who called the pig out," commented Dark Pit with an unimpressed look as he beheld the monstrous alter ego of Ganondorf, Ganon.

"Are you telling me... this monster is on our side?!" asked Simon in disbelief as he looked at Ganon.

"Trust me; having him on our side is the best thing ever!" Link told him with a smirk.

Franchouchou was as surprised as everyone else when they saw those two giant monsters. Sakura then said to her companions, "Sorry, my bad luck brought all this on everyone again, but... I'm not going to let it stop us!"

"Have you forgotten? Every one of us here are equally unlucky as you!" Ai told her with a smile.

"Right, so you shouldn't blame yourself!" Junko told her.

"Sure, this may be more extreme than what we've been through before, but we'll definitely make it to the end in one piece no matter what!" said Saki.

"As long as we don't give up, we will definitely succeed!" said Yuugiri.

"Come on! Let's perform for everyone now!" Lily told Sakura. Tae raised her arms into the air while making cries that sounded as if she was telling Sakura to pull herself together.

With a large smile on her face, Sakura was relieved to hear that her companions weren't fazed by the situation going on and that they were all supporting her. She then walked up to the front of the stage and said to the audience, "Everyone! Sorry for what happened, but please allow us to perform to the end! We believe that those people will protect us from that monster! We have faith in them, and you should all have faith in them too!

"Misfortune happens to everyone, but we must not let them bring us down no matter what! When I was feeling down, my friends were at my side, trying to cheer me up, and I am grateful for them all! It is because of their support that we are all able to stand here today, performing for you all! Now there are people out there trying to support us, so we shouldn't let them by panicking and giving up! We are idols, and our job is to make everyone happy and also make their dreams come true! No matter what happens, we will always face the situation with smiles on our faces, hoping that everyone will smile when they see us smile too!

"So please! Everyone! Lend us your support and cheer for us as we give you the final performance for tonight!"

Upon hearing her speech, the crowd went wild, shouting positive things at them and telling them to perform. Even those watching TV were passionately lending them their support.

"You are all fools!" said the Dracula-Death fusion in an echoing voice. "YOU WILL ALL DIE DOING WHAT YOU LIKE MOST AND REGRET IN HELL!"

"The only one here going to regret is you, Dracula!" shouted Simon while pointing at him and swinging his whip in circles. "You will regret ever trying to take away the happiness of the people!"

"Right! Do not underestimate the power of light and justice!" said Richter loudly.

Julius approached them both and said, "Come and let us show him the power of three generations of the Belmont combined!"

Walking up to them, Alucard said, "I'm sorry for all the trouble my father caused. I will see to it that I lend you my hand and help bring him down!"

Getting into a fighting stance, Link said, "All right! Let's do this!"

"I'm more than ready to tear him apart!" said Ridley, glaring angrily at the monster. Dark Samus fist pumped the air before pointing her arm cannon at the monster.

Dark Pit swung his blade around before getting into a fighting stance. "Let's hope you put up a challenge!"

Readying her guns, Bayonetta said, "I'm sure Rodin is going have a fun time listening to my story!"

"Your aura is nothing but darkness! I will not allow you to exist!" said Lucario as he made a stance. Greninja created a pair of water swords and got ready to fight as well.

Kamui walked out of the barrier created by Palutena and stood among the good guys, saying, "Hope you don't mind that I join the fight! As an enforcer of justice, I cannot sit by and do nothing about this evil!"

Luigi shouted at them from the audience, "GET HIM! I KNOW YOU CAN!"

"Yeah! Beat that monster! I know you can do it!" shouted Yoshi.

Standing close to the Smashers, Toor shouted, "You can do it, Smashers! I know you can!"

Villager was also shouting at the Smashers, "Kick that monster's a**! Tear him apart! Crush him! Rip out his innards!"

Seeing that everyone was shouting for the Smashers to take down Dracula, the zombie idols' confidence returned with full force. Sakura looked at her companions and saw them nod, signaling for her to get things started. Sakura turned back to the audience and said, "Everyone! We will now begin our performance! The name of our song is... **LIFELIGHT**!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

Yes! The song Franchouchou will be singing is none other than Smash Bros. Ultimate's very own theme song, Lifelight! I'm extremely thankful that this theme has a wonderful vocal version! In fact, you can say that the only reason this story exists is because of the existence of this song!

However, I won't be using the official version in the next chapter. I will be using a fan made remix I found on YouTube, which I think will be a better fit for the finale. Just replace the singer of that remix with the zombie idols' voices and you're all set!

So this is it! The final battle is coming next chapter! While Franchouchou dance and sing to the remix of Lifelight I found, the good guys will battle Dracula. This is the final battle I have been planning all this time, and in a way I have never done before!

Also, in case you haven't noticed yet, Galeem and Dharkon are both referenced in this story. Franchouchou's costume for this performance is actually a reference to Galeem, the dress itself representing his body, while the wings representing his wings. Dracula's transformation is a reference to Dharkon, the black body representing his color scheme, and the single eye on his chest representing his sole eye. And then there are those tentacles...

Neat references, don't you think?

And yeah, Ridley said the title of the story.

I'm so excited to finally be getting to this part! Please look forward to the next chapter! I'll make it as awesome as possible!


	15. The Show To End All Shows

All right... Take a deep breath... Let's begin...

 **Chapter 15  
The Show To End All Shows**

* * *

The stage was set for the final performance of the Golden Stag Festival and also the final battle against Dracula. Everyone was silent as he or she watched Franchouchou positioning themselves on the stage and waiting for them to begin, whereas the Smashers stared down against Dracula, both sides waiting for each other to make a move. The zombie idols had their eyes closed, waiting for the music to begin playing.

 **Performance Begins  
Lifelife (Rock Cover)  
(by LeeandLie)**

The moment the music started playing, the idols opened their eyes, and only after a second into the theme did they spread out their arms and sang altogether, with the exception of Tae, since she couldn't sing.

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Search your soul and reawaken the undying light_

At the same time, Ganon made the first move, roaring out loud as he ran toward Dracula with his fist pulled back to throw a punch at the monstrous being before him. Dracula responded by bringing his massive hand in front of himself and catching the pig demon's fist, gripping it hard and bringing him pain.

Seeing this, Ridley flew towards Dracula's hand and released a blast of fire at his face, causing him to recoil and let go of Ganon, who immediately threw another punch, hitting him hard in the guts. Despite Ganon's towering size, he was still smaller than Dracula by a couple of meters.

Dracula recovered fast, and then he stomped the ground hard, creating a shockwave that spread throughout the place. The good guys on the ground were all blown back by the shockwave, but those within the barrier were all protected.

The audience was temporarily distracted by the fight with Dracula, but their attention returned to the stage when Lily stepped forward and began singing solo, while the other idols danced with movements such as slow swaying of their bodies and waving around their arms in various directions gracefully. Opening his mouth, the blue-haired zombie sang:

 _On that day, when the sky fell away_  
 _Our world came to an end_  
 _In our eyes, did a fading sun rise in the dark?_  
 _Glimmering shadows_

Letting out a cry of anger, Dracula swung his hand at Ganon, hitting him in the head and slamming into the barrier created by Palutena. Despite the strong impact, the barrier was able to remain in one piece, though the audience was spooked by this. "Don't worry! It won't break so easily!" Palutena told everyone.

It was Bayonetta's turn to attack. Leaping high into the air, she fired magical bullets rapidly at Dracula's head. The monster brought his arm in front of himself for defense, while one of the tentacles on his back headed for her, but before it could hit her, she dissipated into a swarm of bats and reformed herself on top of the tentacle. From there, she ran along the tentacle and towards Dracula, leaping at his face and then summoning a fist to smash him right in that spot.

Activating her sword that it became like a chainsaw, Kamui ran towards Dracula's left leg and sliced into it. Dracula actually felt pain when the blade sawed into his skin, and he cried as he took a step back.

Meanwhile, Ganon went for Dracula again, shoulder bashing him hard enough to make him fall to the side and crush a building.

When Lily had finished singing her part, she moved back to join the others in dancing, while Yuugiri stepped forward to begin singing her part.

 _Silence grows, in the spaces between_  
 _stretching out beyond time_  
 _Rising up, as a chorus of souls find a voice_  
 _flickering through the void_

Dracula roared in anger as he got back up, only to be greeted by Julius, Simon, and Richter jumping towards him, each of them holding water bottles in their hands. They flung the water bottles onto Dracula's face, and they burst into a large amount of blue fire that burned him intensely. The monster cried in agony as he thrashed around while constantly beating his own face to put out the fire.

Taking aim at the monster's third eye, Dark Samus fired a missile right at it. Dracula cried in pain while taking a step back when he was shot in that part, though the eye remained unharmed afterwards. By now, he had put out the fire on his face, and the monster breathed a large amount of purple fire at the good guys.

Everyone in the way of the fire got away, except for Kamui. In an instant, a swirl of water appeared around Kamui as she transformed into her dragon form and released a large amount of water from her mouth at the incoming fire. Despite being water, it didn't completely douse the fire but instead, both sides pushed with equal force, neither side letting each other through.

When Yuugiri was done singing her part, she joined the others at the back to dance, while Junko stepped forward to sing her part of the song.

 _These little sparks, cling on to life,_  
 _everyone caught in the struggle,_  
 _And then the storms of change, they fan the flames_  
 _scattering ashes to the wind_

Kamui and Dracula were finally done unleashing their attacks at each other. As soon as this was done, Dracula was shot in the head at an angle from above by a purple beam. Looking in that direction, he saw Dark Pit aiming a weapon resembling a sniper rifle at him. One of the tentacles on the monster's back extended in his direction at fast speed. The black angel dodged it and then sped towards the monster while traveling around the tentacle in a spiraling path. After tapping a bracelet that he wore around his arm, the accessory transformed into a metal glove gauntlet that was much larger than his arm. With his newly-formed weapon, Dark Pit charged up the Electroshock Arm with electricity before slamming it into Dracula's face.

Meanwhile, Greninja created two large water shurikens and threw them at the monster, one striking him in the center of the third eye and the other embedding itself into his forehead.

Lucario, with claws coming out of his hands, slashed Dracula's right leg over and over, and he eventually jumped back and formed a ball of orange light in his hand and waited for it to become a size almost as big himself before firing it at that body part.

Jumping to the same height as Dracula's head, Alucard pulled back his hand and covered it in magical fire. He swung his arm at the monster's direction and released a large blast of fire, blasting him in the head.

When Junko was done with her part, she stepped back a bit, and then all the idols sang out loud together, once again excluding Tae.

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _gleaming faintly as it dwindles from sight_  
 _No escape, no greater fate to be made_  
 _In the end, the chains of time will not break_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Search your soul and reawaken the undying light_

Dracula let out a cry of frustration as he swung his tentacles around in an attempt to strike down anyone in his way. The good guys were able to avoid getting hit with ease with swift movements, most of them due to the usage of observation aura to foresee where the tentacles would strike from.

After dodging one of the strikes, Link held his sword high into the air and waited for another tentacle to come swinging at him, and when it did, he swung it down after infusing it with armament aura, slicing off the tip of it. Dracula cried in pain and pulled back that tentacle in response.

All the while, the audience were amazed and mesmerized by the performance of Franchouchou. While some of them also turned to look at the fight going on at the side, most of them were so amazed by the zombie idols' performance that they became more captivated by it than the violence going on.

Everything that was happening was captured on camera, and so the television was broadcasting both the events going on. Occasionally, the scene would focus on the idols performing, and sometimes it would shift to the battle going on. All those watching TV were in awe and could not take their eyes off their television screens.

"What a beautiful song!" commented Peach in awe. "And there dancing! It's so wonderful!"

"They're almost... like angels!" commented Mario

Elsewhere among the crowd, the married couple Mario and Peach met touring in the mountainous area was seen watching the performance as well. Both had looks of awe on their faces, and the husband said to the wife, "My dear, are they who I think they are?"

The wife replied, "They must be the godsend angels our son told us about! They have to be it!"

After the idols were done singing those segments of the song, it was Ai's turn to step forward while the others danced. She sang out loud:

 _As fate spins a thread without end,_  
 _new life draws its first breath,_  
 _Blossoming in a soil reclaimed from the past,_  
 _where destiny holds fast,_

With dragon wings on her back, Kamui flew at one of the tentacles swinging wildly in the air and, with a single swing of her sword, sliced off the tip of it, once again making Dracula cry in pain.

Enraged, the monster made the tip of his remaining two tentacles glow with purple light before firing bolts of electricity out of them. The bolts were fired around in the air for a while, trying to shoot down the fleeing Kamui and Dark Pit, before being aimed at Ganon. Ganon took the attacks to his chest and cried in pain while taking several steps back.

In response, Ridley flew at one of the tentacles and slammed down a claw covered in purple fire onto it to halt the attack before turning to Dracula and firing a large fireball right into his face.

Ganon, having recovered from the attack, angrily grabbed one of the tentacles and, with a powerful yank, ripped it apart, once again bringing tremendous pain to Dracula and leaving him with only one tentacle left.

When Ai was done singing her part, she moved back and allowed Saki to step forward to sing her portion of the song:

 _Here where we stand, hand clenched in hand_  
 _everyone caught in the struggle,_  
 _This is the day we finally find our way_  
 _stepping into our tomorrow_

Putting aside his whip for the meantime, Richter took out a pair of knives and ran towards Dracula. He jumped at his body and plunged both knives into his flesh, and then using the knives as climbing tools, he climbed up the monster's body until he got to the third eye and stabbed it rapidly with said weapons.

Pulling back his Electroshock Arm, Dark Pit increased the voltage to the max as he flew at the monster at a fast speed, unleashing a powerful punch to his head that resulted in a massive burst of electricity, and sparks flew all over the place.

Dracula let out a roar of anger as he swung his arms and remaining tentacle around to get all those on him and around him out of the way. He instantly formed a ball of dark energy in his hand afterwards and flung it towards the pavement. Alucard was below the incoming projectile, and he held out his hands to form a magical barrier that blocked the attack, trying to use all his strength to hold it back, as he knew how much damage this attack would cause if it hit something.

Palutena suddenly appeared next to him out of nowhere and thrust her staff forward to create a rectangular barrier that, when came in contact with the energy ball, reflected it back to Dracula, blasting him backwards.

Having sang her part, Saki moved back, and this time, it was Sakura's turn to step forward to sing out loud.

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _growing louder as it calls to unite_  
 _From the distance sings a chorus of souls_  
 _rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight_

Getting behind Dracula, Bayonetta said with a smirk, "Time for an Infernal Climax!" She then struck various poses nonstop, and when she was done, she shouted out loud, "AVAVAGO!" The air around her became red, and then a large portal appeared right above her.

All of a sudden and much to the surprise of the good guys, a large black dragon-like monster came out of the portal, gnashing its teeth constantly while roaring at the top of his voice.

"Holy cow?! What is that thing?!" said Link in shock.

"An Infernal Demon!" said Alucard in shock. "She has the ability to summon one?!"

The monster, known as Gomorrah, lunged himself onto Dracula's back. He wasted no time in biting and ripping off the remaining tentacle and then throwing it aside before violently biting into the monster's back. Dracula screamed in terror as the demon actually managed to lift him into the air using his jaw power alone and shook him around violently.

While the demon was mutilating Dracula, Ganon, Lucario, Dark Samus, and Ridley all positioned themselves before the monster, the latter staying afloat in the air by flapping his wings constantly.

Ganon and Ridley both opened their mouths, and red light began shining out from the back of the throats. Dark Samus pointed her arm cannon at the monster, and the turret opened up widely and began charging up with blue light. Lucario held his arms over his head and charged up blue energy.

Due to having a longer singing part compared to the others, Sakura took slightly longer to finish. Kotaro watched from the side of the stage, holding a small device in his hand that contained a button on which his finger was resting on. Seeing that Sakura had finished her part and also seeing the other idols stepping forward together, he smiled as he pressed said button.

In doing so, the wings on the back of the idols' costumes spread out and then released rainbow-colored lights that brightly lit up the place. The audience let out gasps of amazement as the colorful lights shined onto their faces. They felt as if the ones standing on the stage were heavenly beings, blessing them with their holy light.

Altogether, the idols sang out loud:

 _Every soul contains a whisper of light_  
 _growing louder as it calls to unite_  
 _From the distance sings a chorus of souls_  
 _rising slowly, stirring heat from the coals_

 _Colors weave into a spire of flame_  
 _Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed_  
 _Bear this torch against the cold of the night_  
 _Light will guide you, on your way to the ultimate fight!_

At the same time, Ganon, Ridley, Lucario, and Dark Samus let loose their ultimate attacks in the form of massive laser beams, all of them concentrated on Dracula's chest. It was also at this moment Gomorrah let go of the monster and returned into his portal, which closed up afterwards. Dracula screamed in agony as the combined force of the four beams burned against his body.

The combined brightness of the beam lit up the surrounding greatly, as if the light released by the idols' wings weren't enough. The rest of the good guys fighting Dracula could do nothing but watch in awe at the sight before them that could be described as spectacular.

As the combined beams continue to burn against Dracula's body, the idols finished singing but had yet to be finished. The music continued to play, while they danced to it, moving their bodies, arms, legs, and heads around in graceful manners. All the while, the audience, both the ones below the stage and the ones watching televisions, had their mouths wide open as they glued their eyes to the final segment of the performance.

No longer able to withstand the powerful attacks, Dracula's body finally gave away. Without a warning, his body was blown apart by the beams. Pieces of his flesh flew all over the place as a large area below his chest was obliterated completely.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The area above the chest flew into the air slightly before falling back down.

The zombie idols continued to dance to the remaining few seconds of the song. Right before the music ended, they all struck the same poses, poses consisting of spreading their legs open in a v-formation, holding their microphone hands high into the air, and the remaining hands on their waists.

At the exact same time, Dracula's severed upper body crashed onto the ground and fell forward. With the beam attacks finally ended, Ganon, Dark Samus, Ridley, and Lucario became fatigued. All four of them got on their knees and breathed heavily, trying to catch their breaths from using so much of their power.

 **Performance Ends**

The idols continued to maintain their poses, even after the music ended. The lights on their wings also died down. The audiences were completely frozen with looks of awe on their faces, and not a single one of them made any noise. The good guys fighting Dracula, on the other hand, were staring at the torn body of the monster, waiting to see if it was still somehow alive.

Silence filled the air for several seconds, to the point of the atmosphere feeling awkward and even wrong.

The idols continued holding their poses while watching the awestruck audience, and just as they were beginning to wonder why nobody was responding, a large amount of noise suddenly erupted as the audiences screamed in happiness and excitement, clapping their hands the loudest they could.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"TOO BEAUTIFUL!"

"THIS IS TOO UNREAL!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW GOOD IT IS!"

Daisy jumped up and down on her throne while clapping her hands nonstop and with tears running down her eyes. "AWESOME! TOO AWESOME! IT'S THE GREATEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN AND HEARD!" Her escorts were equally amazed.

"I LOVE YOU ALL!" Luigi shouted out loud at the idols while a waterfall of tears ran down his eyes. "YOU'RE THE BEST!"

"JIGGLYPUFF LIKES IT! VERY GOOD!" said Jigglypuff loudly.

"Very good! Very good!" said Dr. Mario as he nodded and clapped.

"Wow! That was incredible! Such beautiful dancing and singing!" commented Zelda.

"YOSHI! IF YOUR SONG IS FOOD, THEN IT'S THE UNIVERSE'S MOST DELICIOUS FOOD EVER!" shouted Yoshi. Piranha was clapping with his leaves happily, even though such an action made no sound whatsoever.

"That was beautiful!" called out Peach.

"Bravo! Bravo!" shouted Mario.

"I have never seen such a wonderful performance!" said Pit happily.

"ENCORE! ENCORE!" shouted Blue loudly.

"THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER! I LOVE YOU ALL!" cried out Toor with teary eyes.

Crying nonstop, Villager said, "If I were to die now, I would no have no regrets! This performance is a killer!"

"That was wonderful!" Murabito called out to the idols.

"In all my life, I have never seen or heard anything as wonderful as this! You girls made an old man proud!" said Tortimer with an approving smile while nodding his head slowly over and over.

The married couple were holding each other's hands while crying nonstop. "It truly is them! The godsend angels we've been waiting for years!" said the wife. "We finally met them!"

"Our son was telling the truth! We truly are blessed to finally meet the angels! This the greatest day of my life!" said the husband.

Alto Hand, despite having no visible tears due to not having a visible face to begin with, was speaking as if he was crying. "In all my years as a host, I have never seen anything this wonderful...! Your idols... You've done a great job training them!"

"Honestly, even I myself am amazed by them at times!" said Kotaro with a smile while wiping away a solitary tear from underneath his shades.

* * *

Backstage, the cheering was equally as exciting as the outside.

Dream Band and Big Ol'Team were clapping their hands while saying all sorts of positive things about the zombie idols.

K. Rap and the Kick-Tail clapped their hands while praising them nonstop as well. "Haha! That's what I call a good show!" said K. Rap loudly and happily as he pointed at the TV. "I've never seen anything like this in my life! Great show! Great show!"

"Wow! They're amazing!" commented Callie. "Don't you agree, Marie?"

Marie nodded in agreement. "Indeed! I'm totally impressed!"

"They have the bright future ahead of them!" said Pauline happily.

"Such powerful performance, even in the face of danger! Such dedication and passion! This is unlike any performance I've ever seen!" said Azura in awe. "They truly are a blessed group!"

"Yay! Yay! I love it! I love you all!" said Barney happily as he jumped and clapped at the same time.

Isaballe was clapping fast nonstop while jumping constantly. "Wow! That was beautiful, don't you agree, K.K. Slider?"

K.K. Slider nodded with a smile. "You girls truly exceeded my expectations! Impressive!"

Even the Wario and Waluigi were smiling and clapping their hands, despite seeing them as potential rivals. "Gotta give it to them!" Wario said to his partner. "That was definitely quite a show!"

Waluigi nodded. "I hate to say this, but if they get a better result than us, then I'm perfectly okay with it!"

* * *

"Hahaha! That was a show fitting for a king like me!" said Dedede loudly and happily as he clapped his hands after witnessing the performance on TV. All his servants present were equally amazed and clapping as well.

"I agree," said Meta Knight. "They are a courageous and incredible group to be able to perform in a situation like that! We also have to thank the Smashers for keeping things under control!"

"With such a great performance, I should consider inviting them to my land for a special performance!" said Dedede.

* * *

Being huge fans of Franchouchou, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. were overwhelmed by the performance and cheering nonstop. "THAT WAS BEYOND ANYTHING I HAVE EVER IMAGINED! NO. 3! YOU ARE MY GODDESS!" said Iggy loudly while crying.

"NO. 2! YOU AMAZED ME! YOU ARE THE BEST!" said Roy loudly with his fists raised over his head.

"NO. 6! NO. 6! NO. 6!" chanted Lemmy constantly while bouncing on his ball nonstop.

"NO. 1! YOU ARE SO AMAZING!" exclaimed Larry.

"My beautiful No. 4! You have amazed me to no end!" said an impressed Ludwig. "You truly are the perfect woman!"

"Truly No. 5 is the best of them all! I have never seen such a perfect woman like her!" said Wendy.

"Heheh! No. 0 is awesome as always!" said Morton.

"THEY ALL DID SO GREAT! I LOVE THEIR PERFORMANCE!" exclaimed Bowser Jr.

* * *

Back in Japan, their fans in Saga were, unsurprisingly, blown away by the performance. They cheered and clapped loudly, and some of them even cried like babies, except they were crying in happiness.

* * *

Back in Smash Mansion, the Smashers were impressed with what they saw.

"I love them! They're my number one favorite idol group now!" exclaimed Bowser while throwing his arms into the air.

DK was clapping loudly and saying, "Bravo! Bravo! I love it!"

"Man! What a show!" said Diddy, clapping his hands over his head nonstop.

In the children's room, Ness, Young Link, Toon Link, and Popo all had hearts floating around on their heads as they watched the television. Nana, on the other hand, was clapping her hands. "Wow! They're awesome! I can't believe how well they performed!"

"I love the white-haired one...!" said Ness in a lovey-dovey manner while thinking about Junko. "She's so beautiful!"

"I love the one with flowers scattered all over her hair!" said Popo, referring to Ai.

"The blonde one is the best!" said Toon Link, referring to Saki.

"The last singer is so beautiful!" said Young Link, talking about Sakura.

* * *

Franchouchou watched in silence at the audiences cheering for them nonstop. At first, their expressions were in awe, but eventually, they smiled. As tears began to form in her eyes, Sakura said, "They... They all love it!"

"Of course they would love it! This is our best performance after all!" Saki said to her.

"We all definitely gave it our all!" agreed Ai.

"So this is the praise that we deserve!" added Junko.

"I'm just glad we managed to make it to the end smoothly!" Yuugiri.

Lily was jumping up and down happily, while Tae waved her arms around in the air and making incomprehensible cries nonstop, though in a happy-sounding way.

As the audiences continued to cheer for Franchouchou, and said cheering didn't seem to be quietening at all, the good guys who fought Dracula smiled as they look at the stage. Ganon had changed to Ganondorf as well.

Smiling, Julius said, "Well, that's that! We managed to save the show!"

"And that's why we are the best!" commented Link.

"In the end, light prevailed!" said Palutena happily.

"I'm glad that everyone is all right and that the performance went smoothly!" said Kamui.

"You know, I don't think I have ever such a satisfying feeling before from defeating Dracula!" said Simon with a smile.

Richter nodded. "Me too! This is perhaps the most satisfying victory!"

"I agree that it indeed is a satisfying victory!" agreed Bayonetta.

"I'm just glad that it's all over," said Alucard.

"And that is why you never underestimate us!" said Dark Pit.

"Right," said Ganondorf with a nod.

Greninja and Lucario looked at the idols with smiles on their faces, while Dark Samus fist pumped the air in victory.

Looking at the smiles on the idols' faces, Ridley said in his head, "Today, we have succeeded in protecting smiles, smiles that are truly worth protecting!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

...

...

...

I have to admit that I didn't find things to be as impressive I had in mind, but in the end, I'm very happy that I managed to pull it off. Perhaps some parts could've been better, but all in all, I think it's pretty good!

And thus finally ends the chapter I have been looking forward to typing and posting!

I would highly appreciate if you give me beautiful reviews that isn't just a one of two words but instead give me your detailed thoughts on what you think.

So what do you think about the remix of Lifelight that I found? It had to choose between two remixes, and it took me quite a while to finally settle with this one. I think it definitely sounds like something the idols would sing and also one that fits the finale! We should thank all the people who made that particular remix too! Great job!

Also, Bytyan's parents finally found closure! Even though it started as a lie created by their evil and disrespectful son, the parents still got to see the supposed angels they were told about! At least they think Franchouchou are angels... Again, a huge thanks to jeanymarie99 for bringing up that forgotten plot point so I could make a conclusion for it!

And good news! I plan to post a short preview of the aforementioned ZLS crossover I'm going to make next in the next chapter! Hope you look forward to it and eventually the actual story when I finally posted it!


	16. The Show Ends

I accidentally replaced this chapter with the final one at first, so I had to do this one from scratch and repost it...

 **Chapter 16**

End of The Show

* * *

As everyone continued to congratulate Franchouhou for their victory, Simon said to Dracula, "It's over, Dracula!"

The vampire responded with a sinister laughter, to which Richter replied, "I know what you're going to say, stuff about how the evil of men will bring you back again! Remember that as long as there is love and justice in men, you will never win!"

Slowly pushing himself up with his hands, Dracula said, "Fools! You who have just been resurrected into this world, what do you think you know? The meaning of good and evil, light and dark, and justice and injustice have long changed!" He said it so loudly that everyone present turned to look at him.

"Nowadays, people can do all sorts of atrocious acts and pass them off as jusice and the right thing to do," he continued, and then he pointed at the audience with his hand. "Just ask them! They'll tell you everything you have to know about the True Fans and how they commit crimes for the sake of satisfying customer needs and making the world a better place!"

The people knew well what Dracula was talking about. Looking at Julius, Simon and Richter saw that he had a somewhat downcast face that seemed to confirm what the vampire said.

"You think things are so simple now? This world is no longer the one you used to know!" continued Dracula. "Gone are the simple days of good versus evil and man versus monster! The world is now in a state of complete chaos and madness, and yet, those responsible never once stopped to think they have become the very monsters they are accusing people of!"

"There will still be people who are willing to do the right thing, I'm sure!" insisted Simon. "The fact that these people battled you is proof!"

"It's true that this world is chaotic nowadays, it's also true that good people like us still exist," said Julius.

"Right!" agreed Richter.

"How long do you think you can last? How long are you going to Keep on fighting before you go insane and become desperate enough to acquire the help of darkness to fight darkness?!" Dracula said to them. "Look at how desperate the government is! Hiring the help of criminals like 7 Warlords to maintain peace and order, thinking they have the power to use evil to fight against evil! And do you think you can last in a world where tremendous powers such as the 5 Abominations exist?!

"If you think you're lucky to be resurrected into this world, think again! Living is not a fortune! It is a curse! The winner will be fated to continue fighting and suffer the hardships that continue to haunt them in the future! Realize that the world you're trying to save has only gotten much worse and will continue to get even worse! LIVE AND SUFFER IN THIS WORLD OF DARKNESS AND MADNESS!"

Dracula then laughed maniacally, while everyone watched him and thought about what he said. When he was done laughing, Dracula said, "I'll be seeing your descendants soon! Celebrate your victory while you can!" He rhen grabbed his head amd, with a powerful than, ripped it off, a move that horrified many.

Now headless and lifeless, Dracula fell to the ground, and purple msoke began coming out of his body until the whole thi disintegrated into nothing.

Everyone continued to watch where the vampire used to be in silence for several seconds.

* * *

For several minutes had passed since what happened. Alto Hand was on the stage, saying, "The judges have decided on the top three winners of this contest! I will now be announcing who they are!"

The audience became excited when they heard this, not to mention the contestants backstage.

"Do know that even if you didn't win a place, you will still get participation awards!" added Alto Hand. "So long as you were in this contest, you are a winner and will become famous!"

He then produced a piece of paper in his hand and read from it just by holding it up. "All right, here's the third place winner!" Everyone listened with anticipation. "K. Rap and the Kick-Tail Crew!"

"YES!" exclaimed K. Rap as he jumped up from the sofa and threw his arms into the air. His group members also jumped up and down in excitement.

Every one in the room congratulated them, including Wario and Waluigi. The crocodiles went out to the stage to receive a bronze trophy from Alto Hand. It was a cup with the model of a stag on top of it.

K. Rap then said to the audience, "Thank you very much for appreciating my performance! I, King K. Rool... I mean K. Rap... ma very glad that me and my group's performance hav perhaps led us to discovering our career in music in he future! I will definitely to come up with great performances to wow you all!"

Everyone clapped and cheered for him.

* * *

"Hooray! He really deserves it! I'm a fan of him now!" said Donkey happily while clapping his hands.

Diddy was unimpressed, however, knowing the K. Rap was actually K. Rool, which Donkey somehow still hadn't realized he, despite the accidental name drop earlier.

* * *

K. Rap and hia group moved to the back if the area, while Alto hand continued with the awards. "Next in second place, we have... Pauline!"

Everyone cheered and clapped as Pauline came on stage with her band and waved happily at everyone, and then she received a silver trophy from the Hand.

"I'm glad you lived our performance!" she said to the audience. "Evne though I'm running for mayor of New York City, I will still continue to perform for everyone! Please support me when the election day comes!"

"I will definitely support-a you!" Mario called out to her. Everyone else agreed as well.

After Pauline and her band stepped back, Alto Hand said, "I'm sure everyone loves a mayor who can dance and sing! Let's wish her best of luck during election day! And finally, the first place!"

Everyone became even more excited when they heard . Backstage, everyone was nervous as they waited impatiently for the announcement to be made.

"Please be us! Please be us!" said Wario.

Isabelle had her hands clasped together while shaking it rapidly.

Franchouchou we also nervous, so much that their lifeless hearts were beating loudly nonstop.

"First place goes to... Franchouchou!" said Alto Hand loudly.

The audience went absolutely insane whenthey heard this, filling the air with cheers and clapping. Daisy jumped up from her throne and shouted, "YES! I KNEW IT!"

"THEY DID IT! THEY REALLY DID IT!" cried Luigi happily.

* * *

"YES! THEY GOT FIRST PLACE!" shouted the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. when they hear the result.

They jumped forbjoy and even hugged with other while crying tears of happiness.

* * *

In Saga, Japan, Franchouchou's fan were equally excited to know that their favorite idol group for first place.

They jumped for joy, cried happily, and let loose party poppers.

* * *

Sakura was completely stunned to hear this, and Sami shook her shoulder and said, "We did it! We really did it!"

"I... I can't believe it...!" said Sakura in disbelief.

"Quick! Let's go out there fast!" said Lily excitedly.

As the idols heded foe the stage while being congratulated by the other contestants, Wario got before thek with an angry look. However, he expression then changed to a happy one as he stretched out his hand. "Congratulations! You deserve it!"

Sakura shook his hand and said, "Thank you! You did well yourself too!"

"I have to admit you were better, but I'll be sure to perform better next time!" said Wario.

The zombie then headed to the stage, where they were showered with praise as the obtained a gold trophy from Alto Hand.

Taking the microphone, Saki said, "Thank you all for your support! We're glad to be able to impress you! We will continue to keep up our performances and not let you down!"

The crowd went wild and praised them nonstop. Saki then told Sakura to say something. The latter wasn't sure what to say at first, but after a bit of pondering, she said, "Thank you very much for appreciating our performance! We're glad to be standing here with everyone tonight, going through all this! I would also like to thank our producer Kotaro Tatsumi for creating us and giving us the opportunity to let us stand here! Please give him a round of applause too!"

She pointed to the side of the stage where Kotaro was and motioned for him to step forward. However, he shook his head and instead bowed to the audience from where he was.

"What do you know? He has stage fright!" commented Sami.

"He was never that good at expressing himself," said Yuugiri.

Meanwhile, the good guys who fought Dracula stood at side of the audience, also clapping and cheering for the idols. The Belmont was standing a bit away from the others so that no one heard them talk. "Those girls are revenants, aren't they?" asked Simon.

"For their sake, we should keep it a secret," said Julius. "The world has changed a lot, but even so, there are still some things people cannot accept the existence of, such as undeads. Can you blame them when works of fiction tend to portray them in a negative light? Those girls are a victim of such."

"I dont mind keeping this a secret. Plus, I'd hate to make girls cry," said Richter.

"Though given how they are, perhaps they may be the ones to change people's impression of undeads if their secret ever got out," said Julius. "Let's hope for thr best of things!"

"The world would definitely be a better place like that!" said Simon with a nod.

After that, Alto Hand told all the remaining contestants to come out to receive trophies made of glass. Everyone then gathered together to have pictures taken by photographers.

It was a night to remember...

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

I know it's shorter than the original version, but I still got all the important parts down. Hope you still like it!

And here's the preview for my next story again.

* * *

"Who is this girl?"

"She looks strange...!"

"She looks like... a corpse!"

"Is that her heart?!"

"That dog only has one eye!"

Lily looked at then people surrounding him in terror. The were talking nonstop abou how strange he and Romero looks, and he could swear that he heard some of them calling him a zombie, which was true.

"Oh no...! I'm done for! They saw me!" the zombie said in his mind. "What ar they goin to do to me? Kill me? Is that even possible? Or capture me and take me to a lab to study me...?!"

Romero was barking at the crowd and even looked like he was going to attack them, but Lily grabbed him to stop him. "Romero, don't! You make things worse!"

As Lily continued to hear people talking about him, he began to cry, and his heart beat rapidly, a sight that disgusted and horrified some of the onlookers.

Bending down and lowering is head, he wept bitterly and waited for the terrible fate that might befall him. Just then, a man spoke to him, "Are you all right, little girl?"

Lily looked up and saw a man with a moustache wearing red and blue overalls and a red cap stretching his hand out to him in a friendly manner. "My name eez Mario," the man said to him. "What's-a yours?"

.

.

.

ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

X

MARIO

 **ZOMBIES' SUPERSTAR SAGA**


	17. There's been a mistake

I would like to apologize for a major mistake I made...

I accidentally replaced the 16th chapter with the final chapter. As a result, the original chapter 16 is gone, so now I have to redo it...

I'm at work, so I will fix this ASAP when I return and also post the final chapter again properly after this.

I'm sorry for the mess up...


	18. End of a Saga

**Final Chapter  
End of the Saga**

* * *

It was the morning of the day the Smashers were going to return to Eagleland. They had finished packing their belongings and were currently loading them onto their tour bus, which was going to take them back to the airport. As they were doing so, Toor was standing in front of the bus's entrance and said to them all, "I hope you enjoyed your time here! Sure, a bunch of unexpected stuff happened, but I have the feeling that you're used to this sort of thing already."

"You can even say that if stuff like that didn't happen, then it's not a vacation at all," said Ganondorf as he walked past the tour guide with his luggage in his hand.

"We're a natural magnet to trouble, so we're used to it," added Link while putting his luggage into the trunk. "But despite this, it was still enjoyable! Nothing beats getting into fights and winning them!"

"I'm just glad this didn't ruin things for you all!" Toor happily said to them.

"Franchouchou!" said Jigglypuff all of a sudden. The Smashers looked up and saw her pointing at the zombie idols and their van right across where they were. The idols were busy putting their belongings onto their van as well, as they, too, were going to return to Japan. The Pokemon happily ran up to them, grabbing their attention.

As the idols bent down to pet her, some of the Smashers approached them. "So... congratulations on winning da contest!" Mario said to them.

"And thanks a bunch for the help yesterday!" Saki said to him with a large smile. "Man! You guys are a lot more awesome than what they said on the internet!"

"Thank you very much," Sakura said to them while bowing. "If you didn't help hold back Dracula yesterday, we wouldn't have been able to continue the show."

"That's what we do for living!" Link happily said to her.

Luigi suddenly pulled out a notebook and a pen for the idols. "Please give me your autographs! Your performance yesterday was so awesome that..."

"Ask no further!" interrupted Saki as she snatched the notebook and pen from him before signing her stage name onto it. She then handed it to the others, who did the same. When the notebook got to Tae, Sakura helped her hold the pen and write her stage name before returning it to Luigi.

Looking at his notebook with a large smile, Luigi saw that their autographs consisted of simply No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, etc. "Thanks!" he said. "But I'm curious... Why don't you use your actual names?"

"Sorry, privacy reasons," Ai told him. Luigi simply shrugged in response.

"I hope you continue to excel in your performances!" Zelda said to the idols. "I hope to see more of what you're going to do in the future!"

Sakura nodded happily. "We'll definitely continue our best to amaze you all!"

"Oh, and I hope you find a cure for her condition too," said Dr. Mario, looking at Tae, who was holding up Jigglypuff, and the Pokemon was looking at her happily.

"Yeah... I'm sure we will..." said Sakura somewhat nervously while she and the others looked at the mindless zombie.

Suddenly, Tae bit down onto Jigglypuff's head, much to the horror of everyone. The Pokemon cried in pain and terror while flailing her stubby limbs, while the idols hurriedly forced Tae's mouth open to free Jigglypuff. "We're so sorry! We're very sorry!" Junko apologized to Jigglypuff over and over.

Jigglypuff smiled and said, "Jigglypuff is okay! I happy to get bite by people I like!"

"You sure your head is all right...?" Dr. Mario asked her when he heard the last line.

"All right, folks! We have a plane to catch, so let's go go go!" said Kotaro loudly as he suddenly appeared next to the van.

The idols looked at the Smashers one last time and said good-bye to them. "Please come to Saga if you want to see more of us! We'll happily perform for you all!" Saki said to them.

"I definitely will!" Luigi happily told her.

The zombie idols then got onto the van. Kotaro got in last, and then he started the engine to take off. Even as they were leaving, the idols looked out the windows and continued to wave at the Smashers, who waved back at them.

As the van was leaving the area, Kotaro caught sight of Julius, Simon, and Richter walking into the hotel grounds. When he saw Julius, the producer gave him a thumb up and a smile, to which Julius returned with the same gesture. The three watched as the van sped off until it could no longer be seen, and then they approached the Smashers, who saw them coming.

"So... you're leaving today?" Julius asked them.

Mario nodded. "Yeah, and I assume that you came to see us off?"

"I figured it would be rude if we don't see the heroes who helped with what happened yesterday off," Julius said to him.

"I have only known you people yesterday, but your performance has already convinced me that you are valiant warriors!" Simon said to the Smashers.

"Yeah! I think I like you folks already!" said Richter.

"You guys did great yesterday too!" Link said to them. "So... how's adapting to modern day doing for you too?"

"I'm sure we have a whole lot to learn about..." said Richter as he looked around. "There's just too many new things to not be amazed at..."

"Indeed, the world has indeed changed so drastically that it's nothing like what I know from my time," said Simon. "However, I look forward to discovering new things!"

"I'm sure your great grandson will give you a good tour around!" Luigi said to them.

"I recommend traveling the world! I'm sure you never got the chance to travel overseas in the past, so now is the perfect chance to see what the modern world has in store for you!" suggested Zelda.

"Sounds like a good idea if you ask me!" said Richter. He looked up and coincidentally saw an airplane flying across the sky. "It would be quite an experience to ride in that kind of flying carriage!"

"Hey guys!" said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Ridley approaching with his two companions. "Just dropping by to tell you that I'm taking off soon!"

"Where are you off to?" Ganondorf asked him.

"Maybe I'll take your suggestion of finding a place to live in Eagleland," replied Ridley. "In any case, let's keep in touch with each other again!"

"Rememba to drop by our place some time!" Mario said to him, to which the latter nodded in response.

"You did pretty well back there by the way!" Julius said to him.

"Glad to be of help!" replied Ridley happily.

Toor then called out to them, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but because of your plane schedule, I'm afraid we need to go now. Who knows how the traffic can be at at time like this."

"Well, we'll be taking our leave," Ganondorf said to the Belmont and Ridley. "Drop by our place whenever you want to!"

"Or come back here whenever you like!" Julius told him.

"You guys go first," Ridley told the Smashers. "I still have to do a bit of maintenance check on my ship before I can take off."

"Good luck on that!" Peach said to him. "We'll be glad to see you at our doorstep whenever! I'll be sure to bake you a good cake!"

"You better believe that Peach is an expert when it comes to baking cakes!" Luigi told Ridley. "You'll be addicted!"

"I can imagine that!" said Ridley with a smile.

The Smashers said one last good-bye to Ridley and co. and the Belmont before boarding their bus. Once the bus was loaded, it took off, and the Smashers could still be seen waving good-bye at the aforementioned people, who kept on waving at them.

After the bus left, Julius said to his ancestors, "So... anything in particular you want to do today?"

"I should be asking you, because this is now your world, not ours," Simon told him.

"Right, we're basically foreigners in a whole new world," added Richter.

"Well, in that case... Maybe I should take you the finest grub this place has to offer first!" suggested Julius.

* * *

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 **Closing Theme  
Super Smash Bros. Main Theme Medley  
(by L F T)**

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Franchouchou had finally board their plane. As she sat on her seat, Junko had a scared and nervous look on her face as while waiting for the plane to take flight. Sakura, who was sitting next to her, realizing her fear of plane rides due to it resulting in her death in the past, placed her hand on hers to comfort and calm her down, telling her that everything was going to be all right just like their first plane ride.

Junko smiled and then took a deep breath to calm herself down, telling herself that everything was indeed going to be all right.

* * *

Not too long after arriving at the airport, Peach was greeted with Daisy happily waving at them. The two princesses happily chatted with each other, while the other Smashers watched and waited for them to finish their conversation.

Meanwhile, in the background, Wario and Waluigi could be seen showing off their trophy for participating in the contest to passersby while boasting about their performance.

Further background, Barney was seen skipping around happily while throwing his trophy up and down nonstop.

* * *

Alucard was walking down the sidewalk, minding his own business, when he noticed Julius, Simon, and Richter getting out of a car parked across the street, in front of a restaurant. Julius called out to him, asking if he wanted to join them for a meal. Richter also suggested that the son of Dracula join them.

Alucard thought for a while, and then he nodded with a smile before crossing the street to join them.

* * *

Ridley's spaceship had taken flight. As Ridley sat in the cockpit, with Dark Samus sitting next to him and Piranha at the back of the room, resting, he flew close to the airport. Looking down from the windshield, he could see a plane beginning to take off. Thinking that it might be the Smashers, he waved at them, even though they wouldn't be able to see him.

* * *

Clearly some time had passed since then, as K. Rool, the true identity of K. Rap, was now back in his hideout, an ocean fortress shaped like an upright crocodile, showing off his bronze trophy to his subordinates. Everyone cheered for him and clapped hands, and the leader of the Kremlings told everyone to whip out all the celebration materials and food, for they were going to have a party to celebrate this.

* * *

Stepping out of a car, Blue breathed in the fresh air of Pallet Town while stretching her arms to the sides. She then proceeded to help her parents with removing the luggage from the vehicle. When she turned and looked to the side, she could see her friends Red and Green coming towards, and the former was waving at her. She smiled and waved back at them in response.

* * *

Arriving at Saga's airport, Franchouchou was immediately greeted by a large amount of fans when they stepped out into the departure arrival.

The fans shouted passionately at them and held up signs with written messages congratulating them for getting first place and also their safe return to Japan.

As Franchouchou happily thanked and waved at them, they could see familiar faces among the crowd. For example, Saki saw Maria and her gang members, and Lily saw his father. Lily gave him a large, passionate smile while keeping his eyes on him longer than anyone else, and in his mind, he wished his father a good luck and also thanked him for coming all the way here to see him return, even though he didn't know this particular idol was actually his son.

* * *

Falco, Bowser, Mr. Game & Watch, Captain Falcon, and Parry were in the living room, watching a wrestling show on TV. The footage showed an Incineroar giving his human opponent an intense smack down, all the while releasing fire from his body.

It was then the door to the room opened, and Luigi, Mario, and Link poked their heads in, waving at them and letting know that they've returned. The Smashers on the couch waved back in response.

Palutena's head suddenly popped up from behind the three aforementioned Smashers to wave at the ones on the couch and letting them know that she decided to drop by for a visit.

* * *

With large smiles on their faces, Ness, Young Link, Toon Link, and Popo were standing in front of posters of Junko, Ai, and Sakura proudly, showcasing them to Pit. They printed pictures of those three zombie idols from the internet and had them blown up to stick onto the walls.

Looking at the posters, Pit gave the four a thumbs up for their good tastes.

* * *

As soon as they returned home, Wario and Waluigi wasted no time in opening the fridge and whipping up a delicious meal to celebrate their homecoming and also their participation in the Golden Stag Contest.

Even though they didn't win any place, they were still happy that they managed to win worldwide recognition.

* * *

Majority of Smashville's population were gathered together in front of the town hall, where Tortimer was giving honor to K.K. Slider and Isabelle for participating in the contest. The two canines happily waved at the cheering crowd before them, and Isabelle had a shy but happy look on her face.

Villager and Murabito could be seen standing up front among the crowd, congratulating them.

* * *

Kamui was on a navy battleship as it sailed across the ocean, leaning on the railing up front and watching the endless span of ocean up ahead. Her twin brother Corrin walked up to her and leaned on the railing next to her. They looked at each other and smiled before turning to the side together, where a massive and long shadowy figure could be seen swimming underneath the water next to the ship. They didn't look surprised or worried at all at the presence of their superior being there.

* * *

Bayonetta was at the bar Gates of Hell, owned by her friend Rodin, telling him about her trip to Transylvania, even though he already knew what went down there due to having watched the contest on TV. Her friend Jeanne and information Enzo were there as well, listening to her.

* * *

Nighttime had fallen, and the zombie idols were back in their mansion, turning in for the night.

As each of them laid down on their sleeping mattresses and tucked themselves underneath their blankets, Sakura looked up at the golden trophy they won and also the group picture they took with other contestants, placing on a table on one side of the room.

Thinking back about what happened, a large smile appeared on Sakura's face. She could not be any happier that Franchouchou had made themselves famous worldwide overnight.

Maybe they weren't the number one idol group yet, but she was sure that one day, they would be able to achieve that much fame. She even thought of the possibility that once they've achieved enough fame and popularity, then perhaps people wouldn't mind if they ever found out they were zombies and would continue to love them all.

Resting her head on her pillow, she hoped for a good night's sleep.

 **Theme Ends**

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SUPER SMASH BROS.  
X  
ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

 **THE SONG OF LIGHT**

 _THE END_

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A few days later...

Ridley went up to the door when he heard the doorbell ring. Opening it, he saw Ganondorf, Link, Mario, and Samus standing out there. "I've been expecting you!" he happily said to them. "C'mon in!"

The four Smashers stepped inside and looked around at the interior of the living room. "Nice place you've got here!" commented Link.

"Not that big of a place, but it's enough for three of us," Ridley said to him. Dark Samus and Piranha could be seen in the living room as well, waving at them.

"Somehow, I knew you would be finding an apartment to in Fourside to live in," said Ganondorf.

"It wasn't hard trying to find one," Ridley told him. "Not too pricey, and the right quality as well! Plus, it's close to the place where I'm planning to work at!"

"What-a job did you find?" Mario asked him.

"An anime store," replied Ridley. "You know, selling anime-related merchandises and all."

"Well, so long as you're happy," said Mario.

Ridley then turned to Samus, who was looking at him with an expressionless look. "And you're Samus, right? They showed me a pic of you." She nodded. "Heard that my counterpart here killed your parents."

"Mother, to be precise," she replied. "My father sacrificed himself to destroy one of his fleets. Still, it's an indirect action of your counterpart. In any case, you're not the same person as him, and I've seen what you did on TV, so we're good."

Ridley nodded. "Good to know! Hope we can get along!"

Samus nodded before heading over to Dark Samus and looked at her from head to toe. She then pressed a button on a wrist-like device she was wearing, and in an instant, her power suit materialized around her body, much to the surprise of Dark Samus. The two then observed each other closely, comparing their armors for similarities and differences.

The others looked at them for a while before turning to look at each other. "So... you sure you're okay with leaving behind your old life?" Ganondorf asked Ridley.

Ridley sighed as he looked out of the window. They were several floors up from the ground. "What else can be done? That place is beyond hope already..."

"I'm sure we can definitely do something about-a eet!" said Mario with confidence.

"You wouldn't understand if you didn't go there," Ridley told him. "Though the truth is, I do wish something could be done, but I've been there long enough to know that it's hopeless..."

"We don't know until we try," said Link.

"True, I'm still hoping that if there is even the smallest chance, I'd like to make that place better, but the way things are now... I'm not counting on it..." said Ridley. "Might as well just forget about it, perhaps until we can come up with something..."

"Then don't burden yourself too much if you can't," Ganondorf said to him. "It's not like you're the owner of that world or it owes you something. There are things that we cannot do as well, so you shouldn't shoulder everything on yourself."

"Yeah, I know that," said Ridley as he walked up the window and looked out at the busy streets of Fourside down below. "For now, I'd like to focus on living a happy life here. Perhaps someday, something can be done about that place..."

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In a military base somewhere that also doubled as a science lab of sorts, various soldiers were standing guard, while scientists and engineers busied themselves with their tasks.

While some soldiers were walking up and down in a hallway, the ceiling suddenly burst open, much to their surprise. They raised their guns and pointed at whatever just came crashing into the place.

The smoke cleared, revealing the intruder to be a tall man wearing a robe made of fox fur, complete with a fox's head that partially covered his head, just enough to keep people from seeing his eyes. Underneath the robe, he was wearing a white, buttoned up shirt and a pair of green trousers held up by a black belt. His shoes were brown.

"Who... Who are you?!" asked one of the soldiers.

The man replied in a filtered voice that echoed throughout the place, "The one who surpassed the gods. **I Am**."

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 _The Smash Bros. will return_

 _..._

 _Isn't that obvious...?_

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* * *

Thank you very much for reading this story to the end! A huge thanks to all those who read and reviewed this story faithfully! I had a great time writing this story, perhaps the greatest I've had in years! I can't say I remember exactly when was the last time I had such a great time writing stories!

Something tells me that my love for Zombie Land Saga was what fueled this story. No, seriously. I have never fallen in love with an anime series so much since One Piece, and that was more than a decade ago! The fact that this series impressed me to this extent speaks a lot for its quality! I'm serious hoping that the special ZLS event that is being held in March will announce the second season or at least OVAs! This series has too many unresolved plot lines to finish with just one season and end it there, so there's definitely got to be more to it!

Let's all pray for the announcement of a second season!

So yeah, the post credits scene to this story, as you could see just now... For those who have been following my previous stories carefully, I can tell you for sure that the Smashers are finally going to tackle the Smash Pros in the next story. The Smash Pros were first introduced in Rise of the Negativities as terrorists who are said to be obsessed with balance and order, but they use violence to enforce their ideas onto other people.

My next Smash Bros. story will finally involve the Smash Pros once again. I know many of you are probably impatient to finally see this plot line going somewhere, but I'm not going to work on it immediately yet. Even though I have the general outline for the story's plot already, it still needs a lot of brainstorming, so it's not something I can easily churn out yet.

For now, please look forward to my next Zombie Land Saga story, a crossover with the Mario series, Zombies' Superstar Saga! I also said there will be another ZLS story that deals with the zombies reacting to modern day stuff. Yes, that one will be made as well, but compared to the Mario crossover, that one will be much simpler and have less consistent update rate, only updating when I feel like it.

And all the while, I'm still working on Justice of Two Worlds...

Also, using a medley of sorts was SonicBlue92's idea. He suggested the Smash Bros. medley from Nintendo Big Band, but since that one didn't have Ultimate's main theme, I didn't go with it and so looked for another one instead.

Anyway, I'll be updating Justice of Two Worlds with another chapter first before posting Zombie's Superstar Saga. Please look forward to them both!


	19. Chapter 16 is fixed

Chapter 16 has been successfully fixed. Please check it out if you missed it the first time.


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